Friendship is a Crazy Thing
by elenamindollin
Summary: Two Hufflepuffs experience all the good, the bad, and the just plain crazy of teenage life in a magical world where normal rules don't always apply. When Cedric Diggory is selected as a Hogwarts Champion, will his best friend choose to stick by his side?
1. Normal On the Outside

**Author's Note: **

* * *

**Chapter One: Normal on the Outside**

On the outside, she seemed utterly ordinary. Intelligent brown eyes peeked out under the stray wisps of brown hair that she'd missed in her hastily-pulled-back ponytail. She sat on her ordinary bed in her ordinary room doing what appeared to be ordinary homework.

With a quill. A big, brown, eagle feather quill. A pretty quill, in fact. But a quill. No, that wasn't ordinary. And had one happened to glance at her homework over her shoulder, they would have beheld a length of slightly yellowed parchment paper bearing the title: "The Purpose and Methods of the Fidelius Charm". No, no ordinary at all. The book lying closed on the covers next to her bore the title "_A Guide to Advanced Transfiguration_ by Miranda Goshawk" with a name emblazoned in gold lettering in the bottom right-hand corner: Rachel Schickling.

"Rachel?" a voice called down the hall for her.

Rachel set aside her quill after neatly punctuating the end of her essay on the Fidelius Charm. "What, Mum?" she called back.

"Dinner's ready, sweetheart," came the reply, "and you have mail," her mother's voice added, as an afterthought.

With a slight groan as her legs protested the sudden use, Rachel set her books, parchment and quill aside and heaved herself off the bed. Padding down the hall, she blinked a little in the kitchen light, which was brighter than the one in her room. "Where's my mail?"

"Right here," her mother replied, pointing a slender wooden stick at a stack of envelopes, which flew across the room to land in Rachel's open hands.

"You could've let me come over and get it myself, instead of rubbing in the fact that I'm not old enough to do magic yet," Rachel grumbled, frowning slightly.

"Just another month, dear," her mother replied breezily.

Rachel made a face at her mother, which caused them both to laugh. "What time does Dad get home?" she asked idly, rifling through her letters. "One from Hogwarts, one from Kelly in Mexico, two from Cedric, one from the Ministry of Magic – oh good, that'll be my Cup ticket… took them long enough."

"Did you get a seat with the Diggorys?" her dad asked, coming in the door and dusting off his long green robes.

"Yeah, we ordered together… I think. That must be what Cedric's writing about. Anyway, they're pretty decent seats. Cost an arm and a leg to get them though. My whole year's savings, plus Grandma's Christmas money." She frowned a little, remembering the depressing feeling of emptying her pockets onto the Department of Magical Games and Sports official's waiting palm.

"Oh well, dear," her father said bracingly. "The Quidditch World Cup's well worth all the galleons you spent on it."

She grinned. "I know, Dad."

"Dinner," Mrs. Schickling announced, setting the food on the table and summoning the place settings with her wand.

Rachel sat down at the table and tore open one of Cedric's letters.

_Rae,_

_Cho's coming over for dinner with her family, so I'll be quick. Got our tickets today. Box XXXVII, row I. Make sure yours matches. See you in a week. Ced_

Rachel checked her ticket, satisfied to see that it did match. She opened Cedric's other letter.

_Hey Girl,_

_How's your summer vacation? Having fun? I've hung out with Cho a few time and ran into Professor Sprout at the Apothecary in Diagon Alley the other day when Mum went to get some more supplies. She said to say hello to you. Did you finish the Potions homework? Snape's essay on Amortentia was a killer. I'd better do well on it, for all the work I put into it. Anyway, I was in a rush earlier, but the Changs left early, so I'm sending this letter too. Dad's got a tent and a site reserved for you, next to ours. We'll help you set up. Oh, and the nearest Portkey leaves from Stoathead Hill, meet us there. Cedric._

Rachel smiled and tucked the letter back in its envelope. She reached next for the letter from her American pen pal, who was vacationing in Mexico and had sent regular updates throughout the summer. Her letter this time went into great detail about a French boy she'd met that week who went to Beauxbatons School of Magic. Rambling about boys was one of the rather endearing traits of her pen-friend, whom she had met two summers ago when Kelly traveled to London with her father on business.

Her letter from Hogwarts contained the customary notice of start-of-term and the list of books she'd need for the coming school year.

"I'll pick those up next time I go shopping, dear," Mrs. Schickling said, peering over Rachel's shoulder to look at the list of books and supplies. "Is there anything else you need?"

"I don't think so. Just a present for Ced's birthday in a couple of months, but I can get that myself."

"That dear boy!" Mrs. Schickling said, "I always knew he'd do well in school! I remember when you two were first years together and practiced spells on each other so much that the nurse wrote home to complain about the number of times she saw you in the hospital wing…how come you two haven't started dating by now?" she suddenly asked, changing topics in mid-sentence.

"Mum, I told you, Ced's just a friend. We don't like each other that way."

"Are you sure he feels the same way you do?" her mother pressed.

"He's been dating Cho Chang since summer started!"

"All the same," Mrs. Schickling sniffed, "I think you two are meant for each other."

Rachel rolled her, knowing that she wouldn't be able to convince her mother to change her mind. "Whatever, Mum."

* * *

_So what did you think? Yes, she's an OC, but I prefer writing them... it keeps me interested, and I try to keep mine as real as possible. Rachel's actually one of my personal favorites, for reasons you'll see in later chapters. Review, please!_


	2. Stoathead Hill Reunions

**Chapter Two: Stoathead Hill Reunions**

"Alright kiddo, here you are: Stoathead Hill," Mr. Schickling said, pulling their car to a stop at the foot of the hill.

"Have fun, sweetie," Mrs. Schickling called as Rachel climbed out, slinging her overnight bag over her shoulder.

"Bye, Mum, Dad," Rachel replied as her folks drove away. As soon as they were out of sight, she set her sights toward the top of Stoathead Hill.

* * *

She'd made it about halfway up when she was hailed by shouts from behind her. "Oy! You there! Wait up!"

She turned to see a family of flame-haired redheads struggling up the hill behind her. Among them, she recognized Fred and George Weasley, beaters on the Gryffindor team. Cedric had told her about them. He'd said they were really, really good and he'd give anything to have had them in Hufflepuff. She smiled affably as they drew even with her. She knew them by reputation. "You blokes going to the Quidditch World Cup?" she asked, playfully imitating a heavy shireland accent.

"Sure thing, lass," George – or Fred, she couldn't really tell – replied with a saucy smile. "D'ye need an escort, milady? It seems a right shame to let such a pretty li'l thing gad about this countryside alone, donchee think, Fred?"

"Aye, George," Fred said, taking the cue from his twin and tipping an imaginary cap. "We can't leave 'er alone, now, can we?"

"Alright you two," Mr. Weasley cut in, "that's quite enough." He extended a hand. "Arthur Weasley, at your service. Can we escort you to the Portkey?"

"Rachel Schickling," she replied warmly, gripping his hand in a brief shake, "I'd be glad of the company."

"Ah, Schickling!" Fred exclaimed, his eyes lighting up in recognition. "You're Diggory's chum, aren't you?"

"Cedric's a good friend of mine, yes," she assented, wondering if they, too, were going to say anything about Cedric being her boyfriend. Fortunately, if they were, they didn't, and didn't have the chance to.

"Rae!" a familiar voice called. She glanced over the Weasleys' shoulders to see her best friend jogging up the hill toward them, followed distantly by Mr. Diggory. He closed the distance in a matter of seconds and swept her up in a tremendous bear hug. "How _are_ you? Merlin, it's been forever!" Cedric exclaimed, stepping back to survey her appearance. "You look good," he said after a few seconds of appraisal.

"Ahem." One of the twins cleared his throat. When he had everyone's attention, he said, "I hate to break up this little reunion, but we're all bound for a Portkey at the top of the hill that's leaving in fifteen minutes. We really should get going, if you don't mind."

"Quite right, young Mr. Weasley," Mr. Diggory remarked as he caught up with them at last. He turned and briefly greeted everyone there. "Arthur, boys, ladies, Potter. Ah, good morning, Miss Schickling!" he ended pompously, shaking her hand vigorously.

"Good ol' Dad," Cedric muttered so only she could hear. She chuckled quietly. She really was very fond of Mr. Diggory, despite his sometimes pompous nature.

"Right," Mr. Weasley said smartly. "Alright kids, hurry, hurry!"

As they all made their way up the hill, Rachel found herself walking between Cedric and Harry Potter, with Mr. Diggory just behind. "So," she said, hoping to find out more about the famous Boy-Who-Lived, "You're on the Gryffindor team?"

"Yeah," he said, looking at her with his startlingly green eyes. Despite being almost three years younger than her, he was a little taller than she was, and looked older than fourteen. _Probably from all that stuff that's happened to him_, she thought somewhat caustically. It had driven her nuts that his "heroics" had continually put Hufflepuff out of the running for House Cup every year since he'd been there. Her House rarely received any glory, yet she fostered a deep-seated loyalty to it and was intensely proud of Cedric for bringing the only glory Hufflepuff had received in the time since she'd been at school.

"Youngest player in a century," Fred boasted, having listened in.

"And a thumping good 'un, too," George added.

"Except for that time Cedric beat him out," Mr. Diggory chimed in. "Potter may have been good, but he wasn't fast enough for my Ced."

"Dad," Cedric said in a low tone, his cheeks beginning to flush pink in embarrassment, "it wasn't a fair match."

"Nonsense! Don't be so modest, my boy. I ask you, is it fair when one player falls off his broom and the other stays on? Of course it is! Ced was just the better flier, isn't that right, Son?"

"Dad…" Cedric said again, almost pleadingly.

From her vantage point, Rachel could see both Cedric and Harry flush in embarrassment, while one of the twins reflexively clenched a fist in anger. She knew the circumstances of that match as well as anybody and she was painfully aware of the fact that, if it had not been for the dementors, Harry would have gotten the snitch and Hufflepuff would have lost. Much as she hated to admit it, Harry was the better flier. Before Mr. Diggory had a chance to plow on any longer, she interrupted his monologue. "Oh look! We're almost there!"

Distracted at last, Mr. Diggory broke off in mid-thought. "Merlin's beard, so we are!"

Cedric sent her an appreciative glance and bumped her shoulder gently in a gesture of gratitude. Then he grabbed her arm and smoothly switched places with her as they finally crested the hill.

"Hey, Harry," she heard him say quietly, "I'm sorry about that. I've asked him not to talk about it, but… well, you see what he's like."

"Blinded by fatherly prejudice," Rachel supplied. "It's nothing personal, Potter."

Their efforts were rewarded by a small smile on Harry's part.

"Still," a female voice said, "it was frightfully rude to go on like that. He should have been more discreet."

Rachel and Cedric glanced around to Harry's other side to see a bushy-brown-haired girl regarding them with annoyance.

"You must be Hermione Granger," Rachel heard herself saying coolly. The uppity fourth-year had been grinding on her nerves since last year with her know-it-all attitude in the library, where Rachel had spent a good amount of time prior to exams.

"That's right," Hermione said crisply.

Rachel clamped down on her tongue to avoid spilling all the things she wanted to say to this upstart little witch who had no respect for seniority. Cedric recognized the warning signs and laid a placating hand on her arm.

"Simmer down, hothead," he whispered, utilizing his teasing nickname for her, one that usually had its desired effect and got her to loosen up.

"Everybody gather around and grab on!" Mr. Weasley announced, holding up a smelly old boot.

"I'm cool, I promise," Rachel whispered back as she reached out and grabbed onto the boot. Cedric smiled and a few seconds later she felt a nauseating tug from the region of her navel.

* * *

_Just so you all know, I have absolutely nothing against Hermione in real life. She's rather a favorite of mine, but, as you may have noticed, Rachel has her own opinions about things and we don't always agree. Please read and review! Let me know what you think!_


	3. Quidditch Trauma

**Chapter Three: Quidditch Trauma**

The Quidditch Cup had been as impressive as her parents had promised. More so, thanks to the astonishing outcome of the match. "It was incredible, wasn't it?" Cedric asked for probably the umpteenth time as the followed the flow of the crowd back to their tents.

"Mmm hmm," Rachel murmured, content just to listen to her friend in his raptures.

"I mean, who would have thought! I knew Krum would get the snitch though. He's an amazing flier, don't you think?"

"Oh sure," she replied. Then, on a whim, she decided to goad him. "He's pretty cute, too."

Cedric snorted. "If you like the hawk-nosed, stoop-shouldered type."

"Maybe I do," Rachel retorted smugly, enjoying the disconcerted look on her friend's face.

"That Wronski Feint…" Cedric changed the subject with a low whistle. "I can't wait to try that out."

"Ugh," Rachel said, suddenly feeling sick at the thought of Cedric slamming into the ground. "If you're going to try that, just make sure I don't know about it."

"Hey look, there's Cho!" he said, his eyes fixed on a spot a little ahead and to their right. "I'll catch up with you back at the tents, okay?"

"Yeah, sure." As she watched him weave his way through the crowd away from her, she felt an unfamiliar pang. For almost seventeen years, it had always been just the two of them, doing everything together. Now, it felt like she was playing third wheel to the Cho and Cedric Show. Hogwarts' Golden Couple. It hurt more than she'd expected to be left out of so many of Cedric's plans. With a sigh, she slipped into her tent, kicked off her shoes, and crawled under the covers of the fair-sized bed that somehow – magically, of course – managed to fit comfortably in a tiny little tent. Still feeling a little lonely, she snuggled deep into the covers and drifted off to sleep.

* * *

"Rae," she heard Cedric's voice calling her name in her dreams, the emotion one she'd never heard from him before.

"Rae!" The tone sent a tingle up her spine and she turned over in her sleep.

"Dang it Rae! Answer me!" Cedric's suddenly very real voice cried through the flaps of her tent. She jerked awake immediately; there was something in the tone of his voice that scared her.

"Ced?" she asked, afraid to hear what else he had to say.

"Are you decent?" he demanded.

She glanced down at the tank and loose pajama pants she was wearing. "Yes. Why?"

With no further ado, he barged in, glanced her over, and went over to her clothes bag. In the distance, Rachel could see the glow of lights and hear indistinct shouts. "Quite a party the Irish are having," she remarked, still rubbing the sleep out of her eyes.

"No party," he said tersely, tossing her a sweatshirt that had the Hufflepuff logo emblazoned on it. "Put that on." When she hesitated, he snapped, "Hurry!"

Hastily, she pulled it over her head. "Ced, what's going on?" she asked, aware of how much her voice was trembling now.

He didn't answer. Instead, he tossed her one of her pairs of slippers and grabbed her hand, tugging her outside into the dark night. He spun her around and pointed up into the sky. "That." He didn't have to say anything more.

Rachel felt her heart drop to her toes. High in the sky, a colossal green skull leered down at them, a serpent twisting sinuously between its teeth. "The Dark Mark!" she gasped. All of a sudden, she felt as though she couldn't breathe.

"We're leaving," Cedric said quietly, putting a hand on her shoulder. "Come on."

Numbed and shocked, Rachel couldn't do anything but allow Cedric to lead her crashing through the woods and undergrowth. _This can't be happening_, she thought, over and over. What could it possibly mean? Who in the world could have conjured it?

At last, Cedric slowed down and came to a halt in front of a pair of Ministry Officials. "Where are you two headed?" one of them asked.

"St-Stoathead Hill!" Cedric gasped between heaving breaths.

The other Ministry official pulled a grungy old sock out of his pocket. "Portkey to Stoathead Hill," he said, "Thirty seconds."

Rachel and Cedric each caught onto one end of the sock and a sickening yank left them kneeling down on the top of Stoathead Hill, safe at last.

* * *

_Read and review please! More on it's way! Just so ya'll know, I've been really busy the last few months, so I apologize for the long wait. Too many things on my to-do list and not nearly enough time. So yeah. But I've got some free time this week and hopefully I'll can get a bunch of chapters in before my schedule catches up with me again. Enjoy!_


	4. Newly Met

**Chapter Four: Newly Met**

News traveled fast in the wizarding world and Rachel's parents arrived in record time via broomstick to take her and Cedric home and bed them down after a steaming cup of hot tea. Mr. and Mrs. Diggory arrived later the next evening to collect Cedric and take him home. Before they left, Rachel and her parents learned from Mr. Diggory that the Ministry still hadn't caught the person who had conjured the Dark Mark.

Mrs. Schickling shunted Rachel off to bed again as soon as the Diggorys left, ignoring her daughter's protests.

* * *

It was several days later before Rachel managed to convince her parents that she was totally fine and suffered from no serious side-effects from the trauma at the Quidditch Cup. By then, it was only a few days until the start of term and Rachel was in a rush to get all her stuff packed.

Just like always, Cedric showed up with his parents on her doorstep on the morning of September 1st to take her to the station. Rachel hugged and kissed her parents while Cedric and Mr. Diggory carried her trunk out to the Ministry car waiting at the curb.

They arrived at the station with just enough time to spare and climbed aboard the Hogwarts Express just before it pulled away. "Hey, Rae, I'm going to go find Cho, okay? I'll see you later tonight," Cedric said as the train began to move.

"Sure," Rachel murmured. "I'll see you later." Inwardly, she wondered, _What's wrong with me coming with you, too? I want to meet Cho, you know_. But, as usual when she disagreed with her friend, she clamped down and said nothing, letting her thoughts boil and stew unspoken. She found a car that was occupied by a bunch of her fellow seventh years and endured their questions about where Cedric was before pulling out one of her new textbooks and sealing herself off from further interrogation for the rest of the ride.

* * *

When they arrived in Hogsmeade, she selected an empty carriage and climbed inside, not anxious just yet to catch up on the Hufflepuff gossip with her friends.

"Excuse me, Rachel?" Rachel turned and saw a very pretty fifth year Ravenclaw standing just outside the carriage. She indicated the seat across from the surprised Hufflepuff. "Do you mind?"

Rachel studied the girl's Oriental features for a moment before shrugging. "Not at all. You must be Cho Chang."

Cho nodded demurely. _Too coy_, Rachel found herself thinking, _Cedric hates that kind of thing_. "So," she said aloud, "how did you know who I was?"

"Oh, Ced's told me so much about you; I feel like I know you already. He pointed me to you carriage and he'll join us when finishes Prefect duties."

"Great." Now that she'd finally met Cedric's girlfriend and seen how pretty she was, Rachel desperately wanted to get out and go find her Hufflepuff friends, but Cedric had – whether he knew it or not – locked her into the situation.

"So, it seems like you two are really close," Cho remarked, her voice forcibly light and casual.

"Like two sides of the same coin," she replied, feeling a bit like she was being put on trial. Cho's eyes narrowed ever so slightly. _Whoops. Bad start._

"He talks about you a lot." Cho was watching her carefully now, measuring her every move.

_I know where this is going,_ Rachel thought ruefully. "Well, we _are_ best friends, and we do everything together. With so many memories, we kind of tend to talk about each other a lot."

"Memories? What kind of memories?" Cho probed.

Unbidden, a memory surfaced: they were fourth years and Cedric had rescued her from a Slytherin who was getting too fresh by pretending to be her boyfriend. The Slytherin boy hadn't been convinced until Cedric leaned in and kissed her. Even now, she could still recall the tingling pressure of his lips. "Oh, you know," she said airily, desperately trying to drive that memory to the back of her mind, "dumb stuff. Like when he charmed my hair neon orange as an April Fool's joke, or when I chased him up a tree when we were six, or the time I accidentally set his pants on fire when we were four because he sat on my favorite doll…" she trailed off as Cho burst out laughing.

"I didn't know about that!" she choked out between laughs.

"Yeah, well, I'm pretty sure there's a lot of stuff like that that he'd rather not tell _any_one," Rachel replied, pleased to have caught Cho off-guard like that.

Cho was still laughing when Cedric climbed into the carriage a few minutes later. "What's so funny?" he asked.

"Oh, I was just telling her some of your more embarrassing stories," Rachel said with a mischievous twinkle in her eyes.

Cedric settled himself beside Cho and slid an arm around her shoulders while bestowing a withering look on his best friend, who only smiled sweetly in return.

* * *

_So I actually haven't read GoF in a while, and I couldn't remember how Cedric's and Cho's ages fell. I know she's a year ahead of Harry, but I didn't know if Cedric was two or three years older than Harry. For the sake of my plot, I selected the three year difference. If any of you are mortally offended by this choice and wish to correct my sacrilege before I commit greater error, be my guest. If you feel like telling me I'm spot on, be my guest as well. Either way, reviews are like chocolate: they make me feel all warm and fuzzy inside. _


	5. Venting

**Chapter Five: Venting**

The days at Hogwarts came and went with reassuring familiarity for Rachel, despite the spell of anticipation that had been cast at the Start of Term Feast by Professor Dumbledore's announcement that Hogwarts would be hosting the TriWizard Tournament that year. She relaxed into the routine of her new schedule and adjusted to the heavier homework load that accompanied her N.E.W.T. level classes. Evenings were spent buried in books or curled up on a large couch in front of a roaring fire in the Hufflepuff common room. Her roommates always had plenty of gossip to go around, and Rachel often sat nearby, listening to their idle chatter with a bemused expression on her face.

The only sight that still jarred her was the sight of Cedric and Cho walking hand-in-hand through the corridors. Cedric rarely walked with Rachel anymore and often raced out of the common room without waiting for her to gather her things and go with him.

It hurt far more than she was willing to admit. Cedric had become a stranger to her. She'd always known that someday she'd have to share him with another girl, but she'd never dreamed that that other girl would completely take him away from her. And now that he was gone, Rachel realized how much she missed having him there.

Not only did she miss his company, but she realized that she missed his help with homework. For six years, Cedric had helped her with Transfiguration – her weakest subject – while she aided him in Potions. It was a sign of their weakened friendship that both of them were now struggling in those subjects. Rachel felt a pang of sorrow and sympathy when Professor Snape gave Cedric a less-than-satisfactory grade on his potions essay. However, her sympathy evaporated an hour later when her own Transfiguration essay received poor marks. It wasn't like she hadn't tried to help him in Potions or ask him for help in Transfiguration. It was just that he spent so much time with Cho and never seemed to have time for her.

* * *

One night, about a month and a half after Start of Term, Rachel sat on the couch in the Hufflepuff common room, attempting to do her Charms homework and only succeeding in rereading the same sentence over and over again. Just as she was starting to drift off into a half-sleep, Cedric walked into the common room, adjusting his book bag and humming softly under his breath.

Giving up on trying to do homework, Rachel closed her book and used her friend's preoccupation to study his features. Time in the sun during Quidditch and his strolls with Cho had given his cheeks a healthy, rosy glow, and he had filled out over the summer into a trim, athletically built young man with broad shoulders and a tall, lean frame. His gray eyes sparkled behind the stray wisps of hair that Cho was constantly brushing out of his face, but Rachel realized that she preferred his hair just the way it was.

He looked up and noticed her. "Hey, Rae," he said, slipping his book bag off his shoulder and settling onto the table in front of the couch she was sitting on. "I've got great news."

"Yeah?" she responded, not really all that interested in hearing about the latest development in his relationship with Cho. Absently she opened her Charms book and thumbed through the pages.

"I'm going to enter the TriWizard Tournament."

The book slipped out of her fingers and fell with a loud thunk on the floor. "What?!"

Worry crossed his face. "Something wrong with that?"

"Yeah, there's something wrong with that!" Rachel retorted heatedly. "You could die! Are you crazy?!"

He seemed to hesitate. "Well, I thought… I don't know. I thought you'd be excited for me. Cho was."

That did it. All the hurt and pain she'd been bottling up over the last month came boiling out. "Oh, really?" she snapped. "And just because _Cho_ thought it was a great idea, you think I'd feel the same!" She snorted. "Dream on!"

Cedric's eyes darkened angrily. "_Cho_ is supporting me in something I want to do. I thought you would –"

"Do the same?" Rachel interrupted. "Ced, I'll cheer for you at Quidditch, help you in your studies, heck, I'll even take care of you when you're sick or depressed, but I _will not_ support you in something that could kill you! Why would I want that for you?"

"Because it's what I want to do!" Cedric shouted. "You don't get it do you? It's my one chance to do something great for Hufflepuff and you of all people should understand that! I thought I knew you well enough to trust you to help me do this –"

"Knew me?!" Rachel choked out, uttering a harsh laugh. "Cedric, you don't know me at all. How dare you assume you know anything about me and what I'd be willing to do for you? That's a lot to ask of someone you've completely ignored for five freaking weeks!"

His anger was replaced by confusion. "What do you mean 'five weeks'? I've –"

"Have you?" Rachel cut him off. "Where were you when I passed my Transfiguration test, even though I didn't have your help? Huh? Where were you when Professor Snape humiliated me in front of the class because I'd spent the night trying to sort you and Cho out after your first fight and I didn't have time to study for the potion? Where were you the night I cried myself to sleep on this couch because I'd realized that I'd lost my best friend? Where. Were. You?" By now, Rachel was on her feet, fists clenched, eyes blazing as she glared down at a very abashed Cedric. "I'll tell you where you were," she said after a few seconds' pause, dropping her voice to a dangerous murmur, "You were with Cho. While I, your best friend of seventeen years was here. _Alone._" She stared down into Cedric's gray eyes for several long seconds as she felt the tide of fury ebb out of her body. The weight of her words pressed down on her as she suddenly sank onto the couch, burying her face in her hands, trying to fight the tears brimming at her eyes.

"Rae…" Cedric said in a gentle tone. Even as he reached out to touch her hand, she could hear the shame and hurt in his voice. Suddenly, she felt his nearness as he knelt on the floor at her feet and wrapped her in his arms, cradling her head against his shoulder. Unwillingly, Rachel felt her hands slip away from her face and curl under her chin as the tears flowed down her cheeks and soaked into his sweater. "Rae, I'm sorry. You're right: I haven't been around when you needed me." He leaned back a little, forcing her to lift her head. "Did you really cry yourself to sleep?"

Embarrassed and ashamed, Rachel wiped her cheeks and nodded wordlessly.

A pained, rueful smile crossed his face. "I'm a horrible friend, aren't I?"

She shook her head.

"Forgive me?"

Rachel stared at him for a long minute. His eyes were filled with so much remorse that she couldn't find it in her heart to stay mad at him. She put her arms around his neck and hugged him. "Of course," she whispered, "That's what friends do." She pulled back, feeling the need to put one more little jab in. "No matter how horrible the other friend has been."

Cedric chuckled ruefully. "Ouch. I deserved that."

She nodded in silent agreement.

After another minute of awkward silence, Cedric reached out and took Rachel's hands by the wrists, holding them palm up in his own hands. "Look," he said, "I'll try to do better. I want you to understand that I really _do_ love Cho, she's the greatest girl I've ever met. But I should have paid more attention to you. We'll try to include you, okay?" She nodded, staring at her hands. "But I need you to do something for me." Rachel looked up to meet the pleading in his eyes. "I really need your support in this TriWizard thing. I want – need – you to understand."

Rachel bit her lip, fighting her instinctive reaction to refuse. Finally, she shrugged. "If it means that much to you…"

She was spared the need for any more words as Cedric grinned and hugged her fiercely in gratitude.

* * *

_Kind of an intense scene, I know. I hope it came out alright. Those aren't easy to write, trust me. Let me know what you thought of it!_


	6. The First Task

_Sorry, this one's a little lengthier than the others, but it just seemed to fit all together. Enjoy!_

_

* * *

_

**Chapter Six: The First Task**

The next few months followed in a flurry of events as the selected students from Durmstrang and Beauxbatons arrived, the names were submitted, and the Champions were chosen. Rachel felt torn between elation and anxiety when Cedric was selected as the Hogwarts Champion. However, when he approached her with a smile as wide as the English Channel, she forced herself to put her worry aside and celebrate with him.

* * *

The only damper on the revelries of Hufflepuff House that night was the annoying awareness that Cedric wasn't _the_ Hogwarts Champion. Harry Potter had somehow gotten his name submitted and picked as well. It grated on her nerves like no other. For the last three years, Harry Potter had gotten himself into the center attention – whether intentionally or not, she didn't know – of everything. It wasn't that she didn't like him – Potter was a decent kid and he _was_ famous, so it was kind of to be expected that he got a lot of attention – she just wished that someone else could get the glory, for a change. And now, this year, when she'd thought that Potter would be forced to the sidelines in light of the TriWizard Cup, he'd somehow managed to fool the age barriers and the fact that only three Champions were selected and get his name picked beside Cedric's.

Her annoyance grew to the point that, despite her normally complacent attitude toward Potter, she found she couldn't stand the sight of him walking around and stealing the spotlight from her best friend. She wasn't alone. Some Slytherin fourth year named Malfoy was distributing charmed buttons that read: "Support Cedric Diggory" until pressed, and the message turned to "POTTER STINKS." She acquired one through a Slytherin fifth year and joined a large percentage of the school in wearing it to classes.

She was just exiting the girl's bathroom before supper when Cedric appeared out of nowhere and pushed her against the wall. "Take. It. Off," he hissed angrily.

Dazed by the ferocity in his voice, it took a second for her to register that he was referring to her "Support Cedric/Potter Stinks" button. "Ced…" she began, "we're just sticking up for you."

"Potter's a Champion, too," Cedric growled, "whether you like it or not. I don't see any 'Krum Stinks' or 'Fleur Stinks' badges, do you?" He stepped back and released his hold on her arms. "Grow up and deal with it."

"Excuse me?" she asked incredulously, appalled and affronted that he would say such a thing to her.

"Listen, Rae, for what it's worth, I don't think Potter put his name in the Goblet of Fire. Dumbledore thinks that someone else did – someone who might have plans for Harry's death. Use your head, Rae. No fourteen-year-old could have fooled the Goblet into thinking there were four Champions. Besides," he added as Rachel scoffed a little, "Potter's a decent person." He glanced around to make sure no one else was within earshot and leaned in to whisper, "He told me what the first task is, said that Fleur and Krum already know, too. It's dragons."

Rachel felt her knees turn to jelly and her stomach lurch nauseatingly. "Dragons?" she croaked.

"It's okay," he hurried to assure her, "I can handle it. Don't worry about me."

"Does Cho know?" Rachel asked, wondering how his girlfriend would take it.

He shook his head. "I'm not going to tell her. She wouldn't take it very well."

Rachel clutched her stomach. "I don't think _I'm_ taking it very well," she groaned.

Cedric squeezed her shoulder affectionately and gave her a brief peck on the cheek. "You're doing just fine. Cho would be sobbing and begging me to withdraw from the Tournament by now."

"I'm seconds away from doing just that," Rachel pointed out in a strained voice, "so you'd better scram so I can compose myself."

He grinned. "Will do. Thanks for everything, Rae. I couldn't do it without you."

She only managed to smile weakly as he hurried off to the Banquet Hall.

* * *

The morning of the first task dawned bright and clear, with only a few clouds scudding across the sky. Rachel and Cedric sat at breakfast in silence, their meals almost untouched. They both knew this day _could_ end tragically, and neither seemed anxious to break the deep, companionable stillness with meaningless words.

Cho, however, bounced up to them with all the ardor of a lovestruck damsel sending her invincible hero into battle. She came up and put her arms around Cedric's neck from behind and giggled as he spun around and kissed her. Rachel's stomach lurched unpleasantly at the sight. "Morning Rachel!" Cho chirped, far too cheerily. Her dark brown eyes bounced sharply back and forth between Cedric and Rachel, as though trying to discern from their expressions what had been going on before she'd arrived. "Why do you look so pale, Rae?" she asked, "Are you feeling well?"

"Just fine, Cho," Rachel replied evenly, well aware of Cho's worries that she might try to steal Cedric away from her.

"Are you sure? Maybe you should have Madam Pomfrey take a look at you…"

"I promise, I fine. I just didn't sleep very well last night." She glanced meaningfully at Cedric. "Bad dreams."

He returned her look, measure for measure, his eyes glittering with anticipation and self-assurance. Rachel sighed inwardly. There wasn't anything she could do to stop him from rising to meet every challenge that came his way.

"Oh, okay," Cho said, shifting her weight a little. She had caught the interchange between the two friends and obviously wasn't quite sure what to make of it.

"Champions?" Dumbledore called out from the front of the Great Hall.

Cedric stood quickly. "Well, wish me luck, kiddo," he said to Rachel.

A lump in her throat obstructed any such sentiment, but she hugged him tightly. "Take care of yourself," she managed to whisper.

"I will," he replied, hugging her a little tighter before letting her go.

He turned to Cho, who had watched them intently the whole time. Instead of trying to find something to say, he pulled her to him and kissed her long and hard. Rachel felt another pang in the region of her stomach. Finally, Cedric broke the kiss and, with a last, assuring smile at Rachel, joined Krum, Fleur, and Harry as they approached the Headmaster.

Meanwhile, Professor McGonagall led the rest of the students outside to the massive, recently constructed stands surrounding a large open space. In the distance, Rachel could hear indistinct roarts of what had to be the dragons. Her heart turned to lead and settled in her toes and stayed there.

By some process, Cedric ended up being the first contestant to fight his dragon and attempt to retrieve a large-ish golden egg. She almost couldn't watch as the dragon snapped and flamed and lashed out at him. Once, he tripped and stumbled and the whole crowd came to its feet, willing him back to his feet. Cho grabbed Rachel's arm and maintained a vicelike grip all the way through the entire ordeal, until finally, Cedric managed to slip in and grab the egg. At once, several dragon-tamers emerged and subdued the dragon. Cho then released her hold on Rachel and screamed in delight with the rest of the crowd. Rachel could only sink back into her seat and heave a huge sigh of relief.

* * *

Later that night, however, she found the energy to party all night long with the rest of Hufflepuff, including performing an impromptu karaoke of one of the Weird Sisters' songs with Cedric after a few glasses of smuggled butterbeer from the kitchens. The party dragged on until the wee hours of the morning, when many of them simply gave up and fell asleep on the couches and chairs in the common room.

Rachel had claimed a fluffy armchair for herself and sank gratefully into it. A few minutes later, Cedric collapsed down at her feet and leaned back against her knees, his cheeks still flushed from butterbeer and from laughing almost all night. "Oh," he sighed, tilting his head back to look at her, "Some night, eh?"

"Yeah," she agreed, closing her eyes and resting her head on the back of the chair, "some night."

"You know?" he said musingly. Rachel opened her eyes again to look at him. He appeared to be thinking. "I haven't had this much fun since… I don't know when."

She lifted her head to turn her full attention on the back of his head. "Not with Cho?"

"That's…not exactly _fun_," he said. "It's enjoyable, fantastic even, but not fun in the normal sense of the word."

"Don't you think it should be?" Rachel asked.

She could hear him smile. "No, it's perfect just the way it is."

She traced her lips with a musing finger. "Hm."

Cedric sat up and turned to look at her. "'Hm'?" he repeated, raising an eyebrow. "You don't agree with me?"

After thinking for a moment, Rachel finally said, "I think if I was going to spend all my time with someone, I'd want it to be someone who could make me laugh and who I could just goof around with. Someone who'd let me be myself."

Her friend snorted. "Good luck finding someone who'll put up with that side of you…" he trailed off as he noticed a strange look in her eyes. "What?"

Abruptly, she shook herself. "Nothing."

* * *

_Hmm... what could it mean? Well, fortunately, I already know, and the rest of you will just have to guess. Please review, it makes me smile when you do! _


	7. Christmas Contention

**Chapter Seven: Christmas Contention**

November came and went without any remarkable happenings and quite suddenly, Christmas was upon them, bringing with it the anticipation of the TriWizard Tournament's Yule Ball. For the first time since Rachel had been at school, hardly anyone went home – herself included. She had been asked to the Yule Ball by one of the Beauxbatons boys, a dark-haired, dreamy-eyed specimen named Pierre. He'd taken to waiting for her outside of classes and whisking her off to meals without even so much as acknowledging Cedric's presence next to her when they exited a classroom. A very deep, dark part of her was gratified to see the flash of resentment that showed in Cedric's eyes as Pierre led her away.

* * *

Just minutes before she was supposed to meet her French escort in the Great Hall, she stopped in front of a mirror to do a last minute appraisal of her appearance. Her normally straight brown hair was curled in ringlets and piled atop her head – courtesy of the handiwork of a particularly talented fifth year girl who specialized in cosmetic charms. She checked to make sure it was still in place and smoothed her emerald green halter-gown before hurrying down to meet Pierre.

His eyes widened appreciatively as she descended the stairs and she silently blessed whoever was responsible for creating the _No-Smudge-No-Smear_ Glam Makeup. She also silently applauded that fifth year girl for teaching her how to use it.

Pierre extended his arm for her to take and led her into the Great Hall, which had been transformed into a crystal ballroom. The sight took Rachel's breath away. Across the room, she caught a glimpse of Cedric – looking dashing in his crisp dress robes – and Cho, who looked radiant in a silver kimono-style dress. Pierre did not allow her attention to remain on them for long, however, and drew her eyes back to him as he grasped her waist and led her out onto the dance floor. With all the grace of a cat, he spun her out and back in, pressing her against him. She dipped and twirled and spun in his arms, feeling light and graceful for the first time in years. The song ended as Pierre pulled her in and stared down at her, breathing a little faster than normal, his mouth was inches from hers and, unconsciously, she felt hers open in response as he moved closer. His lips had just barely touched hers when she felt a tap on her shoulder. They separated to see Cedric and Cho standing there. Cedric's eyes were an emotionless steel-gray and he regarded Pierre with distaste before bestowing his trademark smile on Rachel. "What happened to _you_?" he demanded with a wink and a pointed glance at her dress.

"I decided to try something new," she replied cheerfully, "You like it?"

He scanned her floor-length, silver-trimmed gown, bare shoulders, shadowed eyes, and elegant hair-do with an appreciative eye. "You'll do," he said at last.

For some reason, she felt like laughing and she did. "You look halfway decent yourself – did you steal those dress robes off some poor, underprivileged third-year?"

Making a face at her, he began moving away as the next song started. "I'll reply when I can think of something crushing to say."

* * *

An hour later, he did return, but not to offer a comeback. Instead, he asked her to dance, since Cho was currently dancing with her Quidditch captain, Roger Davies. He led her out on the floor and they began to sway gently in time to the music. "So, who's your date?" he asked, gesturing toward where Pierre sat watching them and looking a little put out.

"His name's Pierre; he's from Beauxbatons."

"Oh, I see," Cedric said, suddenly looking a little annoyed. "One of _those_ boys. I noticed."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Rachel demanded harshly, irritated for reasons she couldn't describe. "Am I not allowed to have a little fun with a good-looking guy? May I remind you that there doesn't seem to be any problem with _you_ snogging Cho all the time!"

"That's not what I –" Cedric began.

"I'll thank you to keep your opinions to yourself, Mr. Diggory," she interrupted curtly.

"Fine," he retorted, "I will. And don't come crying to me when he breaks your heart, because he will."

Rachel, who was already well aware of the fact that Pierre was a love-em-and-leave-em kind of guy, only scoffed. "Don't flatter yourself. You're the _last_ person I'd go to with _any_ problem. You're so wrapped up in yourself that you can't see anyone else even if you wanted to!"

He blinked, then his eyes hardened. "Is that what you think?"

She was trembling now, her emotions threatening to spill over and out of control, but she squared her shoulders. "Yeah, that's what I think."

Suddenly, Cedric stepped back, even though the song was barely halfway over. "Fine. You can finish this dance by yourself."

"Fine!" she called after his retreating back, fighting back the angry tears that burned against the edges of her vision. She didn't understand why she kept picking fights with him. All she knew was that it made her ache to see him so happy and she wanted make him hurt as much as she did. Why _did_ she hurt so much? It was a question that she couldn't – and wouldn't – answer.

Still fighting back tears, she gathered up the folds of her gown and hurried off the dance floor, brushing Pierre off as he stood to approach her. As quickly as she could without running, she worked her way through the milling students and crossed the entrance hall toward the Hufflepuff common room – barely registering that some kind of shouting match was taking place on the stairs.

When she reached her own dormitory, she collapsed on her bed and allowed the tears to come, soaking her pillow and the strands of hair that had come undone. It felt good to cry, and eventually, she cried herself to sleep.

* * *

_Another very intense, very emotional scene. I hope it's the last one... but of course, that depends on Rachel and not on me. I'm just writing her. So yeah. Please review, of course. I love concrit, so feel free to critique me as much as you want. Oh, and flamers make me laugh, so you won't accomplish anything by trying to flame me. Assuming of course that you wanted to... _


	8. Separate Lives

**Chapter Eight: Separate Lives **

Rachel and Cedric barely spoke to each other at all for almost two months – the longest time they'd ever spent at odds with each other. In their classes together, they sat apart, usually on opposite sides of the room. Rachel knew she had hurt Cedric far more than she'd intended, but she just couldn't bring herself to apologize. The sight of Cedric and Cho – which had become even more frequent since the Yule Ball fight – sparked something deep and angry in her heart. She came to hate the sight of them.

Every now and then, she caught a look in Cedric's eyes – one of pure anguish. It tore her up, and she nearly apologized right then, but the moment would pass and he would look away again.

Things they had once done together, they now did alone. Rachel trudged wearily through her Transfiguration work, while Cedric figured out the secret clue hidden in the golden egg that prepared him for the second task – which, under normal circumstances, he would have consulted and pondered and mused over with Rachel every step of the way.

When they _were_ together, they rarely talked and seemed most pleased to be talking to somebody else. In Potions, Snape sensed their mutual animosity and, true to his usual, sadistic nature, took great pleasure in assigning them to work on delicate potions together.

* * *

Rachel sighed as she dropped her bags onto the seat she had once so often occupied and tugged out her potions book. Cedric took one look at her and then went to get the ingredients they needed from Snape's store. When he returned, she wordlessly grabbed the first ingredient and began preparing if for the potion.

Snape glided by in his usual greasy manner and surveyed them over his hooked nose. "It works better if you _talk_ to your partner, Miss Schickling… or shall I deduct points from both of you?"

Rachel sent him a dark look as he moved away. When she looked back, she saw Cedric watching her, his eyes full of an emotion she couldn't quite identify. Awkwardly, she cleared her throat. "So… what's going on with you?" she asked, feeling a tiny pang of guilt that she knew nothing about him anymore.

He shrugged.

"How's Cho?"

He only smiled halfheartedly.

She began to feel a twinge of irritation. "I'm not going to be the only one talking," she snapped, trying to keep her voice to a low murmur.

"Go ahead," he replied coolly. "You normally enjoy dominating the conversation."

"I do not!" she retorted, burning with fury at the jab.

"Well, you certainly did the last time I talked to you," he pointed out.

"That's because _you_ kept making unfair comments." She dropped some ingredients into the cauldron and stirred them around, feeling as though she was stirring their emotions around with the ingredients. Finally, in a pained voice, she managed to ask, "What's happened to us, Ced? We don't even know each other anymore."

He opened his mouth to answer, then closed it again. She saw everything she needed to see play across his face.

The bell rang and she gathered up her things. "Nevermind," she told him before walking away and leaving him sitting there.

* * *

_Oh the ache! It sucks when best friends are mad at each other, doesn't it? And this is a bad'un... will they ever make up? _


	9. The Second Task

**Chapter Nine: The Second Task**

Rachel was sitting in the Hufflepuff common room, reading up on material for her test over the uses and functions of Muggle household appliances, when a smallish second year timidly approached her. "Professor Sprout says Professor Dumbledore wants to see you in his office," he told her, looking ready to bolt.

Rachel raised an eyebrow. "Thanks," she told him. He seemed relieved to have gotten his errand out of the way and took off up the stairs to the boys' dormitories. Cedric was up there… she wondered if he had anything to do with this.

With a sigh, she put her books and notes aside and wandered through the corridors to where she thought Dumbledore's office might be. She found Professor Sprout waiting for her in front of a large stone gargoyle. She looked unusually serious and Rachel wondered what she had done to cause such a reaction from the usually cheerful Head of Hufflepuff House. How much trouble was she in? And for what?

"Evening, Miss Schickling," Professor Sprout said as Rachel drew even with her. Noticing the look of concern on her student's face, Professor Sprout added, "Don't worry, dear, you're not in trouble." She turned to the statue. "Fizzing Whizzbees."

Compliantly, the gargoyle sprang aside to reveal a moving staircase. Rachel and Professor Sprout followed it up to a large wooden door that was cracked open.

"Come in," Dumbledore's voice instructed. He turned as they entered. "Ah, Miss Schickling. Just in time," he said, looking at her over his half-moon spectacles, an odd twinkle in his eyes.

Confused, her eyes traveled over the faces of the three other students in the room – Hermione, Potter's redheaded Weasley friend, and a pretty little platinum-haired girl who looked for all the world like a miniature Fleur Delacour.

Dumbledore's keen eyes read her confusion. "I suppose you're all wondering why you're here," he said to the group at large. "As you are well aware, the Second Task is tomorrow and one beloved 'thing' will be taken from each Champion, which he – or she –" he nodded at the little girl who looked like Fleur, "Must then rescue within an hour." He eyed them keenly. "Hence, the four of you are here."

"Oh!" Hermione gasped, "_We_ are the 'thing' each Champion has to rescue!" One hand flew to her mouth. "Oh dear!"

Rachel suddenly felt a knot coil in her stomach. It had to be Cedric. She had to be the one Cedric would miss most. But what about Cho? A fluttery feeling settled around her heart.

"Correct," she heard Dumbledore reply to Hermione and she wrenched her attention back to him. "The four of you will be placed in an enchanted sleep at the bottom of the lake. The spell will lift when you and your Champion return to the surface. No harm will come to you should your Champion fail to rescue you, rest assured. The mermaids will simply bring you back." He conjured four chairs. "Now, if you'll please sit down – it makes things so much easier. I'll give you a few minutes to prepare yourselves."

Still feeling faint and remarkably detached, Rachel settled down in the comfy chair Dumbledore had provided for her. This was a new development she hadn't expected at all. She had known nothing about the Second Task because Cedric hadn't told her. She wished now that he had – did he know what to do?

Suddenly, she was aware of Dumbledore standing in front of her. He smiled and softly murmured a few words with a wave of his wand. She felt a warm, cozy blackness settle over her mind and, despite herself, felt herself snuggling deeper into it until it erased all consciousness.

* * *

The first things she noticed when she regained consciousness were the breeze on her face and the fact that she was soaking wet and half-submerged in the water. The second thing she noticed was Cedric beside her, the Bubblehead charm evaporating now that he no longer needed it. His eyes revealed an emotional fatigue of the most intense kind as he pulled her through the water toward the platform ladder. She coughed as water sloshed into her mouth and spluttered, fighting to clear the fog from her mind. 

Cedric jerked around to look at her, his eyes wide and vulnerable with relief. She clung to the bottom rung of the ladder, unable to pull herself up just yet. She felt Cedric's hands touching her face, neck, arms and hair. "Are you okay?" he demanded in a desperate voice. "You're not hurt?"

Rachel thought for a moment, then shook her head. His arms went around her waist and he sagged against her in relief. Then, grabbing a rung of the ladder, he pulled her close against him, his eyes hungrily searching her own. "I thought it would be Cho," he said in a hoarse whisper. "I never dared to think it would be you. I couldn't bear to." He chuckled roughly, coughing water out of his throat. "My heart about stopped when I saw your face through the water. I thought I'd lost you."

All her anger and pride from the past two months evaporated at the look in his eyes. She raised an eyebrow. "We were fine; you should have known Dumbledore would never let anything happen to us," she scolded gently.

"You don't know what it was like down there." There was that look in his eyes again. He searched her eyes, his grip on her waist pressing her tightly against him. "You have no idea," he breathed, pressing his forehead against hers. "You have no idea how hard I worked to convince myself that I loved Cho. It's because I kept comparing her to you, without realizing what it meant." He pulled back again, his eyes still filled with an emotion that sent tingles up her spine. Suddenly, he leaned in, closing his eyes. She met him halfway as he pressed his lips against hers, kissing her passionately, tenderly. She basked in the feeling as he pressed harder, kissing her more deeply. Finally, after what seemed like forever, he pulled away, leaving her lips tingling pleasantly and her whole body humming. She opened her eyes to see him smiling. He cast a sheepish glance up the ladder. "We, um… should probably get out of the water," he said.

Suddenly she remembered where she was and realized that the whole school was waiting for them to climb up onto the platform. They were sheltered from view right now, but Victor Krum had just surfaced with Hermione and it was time to get out of the way. Feeling suddenly shy, she smiled at Cedric and began climbing the ladder, feeling his hands around her waist, supporting her. The welcoming arms of her friends from Hufflepuff waited to wrap towels around her and hug her, laughing and cheering raucously as they threw towels around Cedric as well.

Despite the chill wind on her wet clothes, Rachel felt warm all over, her lips still tingling from her best friend's kiss. _What will happen now?_ She wondered.

Squealing, Cho pushed through the crowd to throw her arms around Cedric's neck and kiss him. Apparently she still hadn't realized the significance of Cedric rescuing _Rachel_ from the lake. Rachel felt her smile fade. Things were getting complicated very quickly.

Amid all the commotion, Rachel felt herself shunted to the side while Cho hung on Cedric's arm and screamed when Dumbledore announced his score. A few of her friends noticed the discrepancy between Diggory's girlfriend and the girl he'd pulled out of the water, but they said nothing. Eric Chamley, a good friend and fellow Hufflepuff seventh year, slung an arm around her shoulder to help block the wind from nipping at her wet clothes. "I'd say we have a bit of a problem here," he observed dryly.

Rachel could only nod as she stared at Cedric, whose eyes flicked her direction every now and then.

* * *

_Okay, Cedric/Cho fans, please don't shoot me! But come on, you had to have seen this coming. I mean, look at the chemistry! (Of course, that was kind of the point when I wrote Rachel...) And yes, it was a rather Mary-Suish thing for Rachel to do, taking the place of another canon character in a significant event. My apologies for that. But for the sake of the plot, it needed to be done. Oh, and I kind of forgot to mention this in the summary, but this whole story is sort of AU... meaning it does have a happy ending. That's because I pretty much hate sad endings and so in my mind, I've conjured up all these ways for J.K. Rowling's characters NOT to die... but you'll have to wait and see what it is... 'kay? Loves! And please review... I covered a lot of ground in this chapter and want to know what ya'll think!_


	10. Aftermath

**Chapter Ten: Aftermath**

During the Hufflepuff party that night, Rachel elected to remain in her seat and watch the festivities from a relatively secluded corner of the common room. Her emotions felt like they'd been thrown into a blender and turned on "puree." Since Cedric had finally kissed her – and meant it – everything was different. Now that it was several hours later, doubt set in with all of its ugly potency. Did Cedric _really_ mean it? Was it just hormones? Was he just freaked out and needing to kiss the first female he saw? What was he going to do about Cho?

While Eric Chamley and a couple of sixth year girls were actively participating in an intense game of "Wizard's Dare," Cedric worked his way through the crowd – receiving plenty of congratulatory thumps on the back on the way – and flopped down on the cushion beside her, allowing his weight to slide into her. Gently, he nudged her with his shoulder. "What's on your mind?" he asked.

Feigning carelessness, she turned and forced a grin. "What's on yours?"

He frowned slightly. "I asked you first."

"What do you _think_ I'm thinking about?" she replied.

"Well, considering the circumstances, one would guess you – like everyone else – are thinking about everything that happened today."

"Yeah," she replied airily, "Having Harry come up last and still take first place was definitely interesting. And worthy of discussion for the next year, at least."

Cedric grunted. "Yeah, okay, _Miss Schickling_, be all smug about it, if you want. I _know_ that's not what you were thinking about." He regarded her more seriously. She felt the intensity in his gaze and finally turned her head to look at him. "I meant it, you know. All of it."

Surprised at his directness, Rachel could only gape at him, her mouth opening and closing as she struggled to think of something to say.

Cedric started to laugh. "You look like a fish!" he teased, squirming out of reach as she tried to retaliate. His teasing worked, though, and she started laughing as well.

"At least I don't kiss like one!" she retorted, still attempting to swat him.

He stopped suddenly, indignation spreading across his face. "I do not kiss like a fish!"

"A big. Cold. Wet. _Fish_," she drawled, punctuating each word as she walked her fingers up his chest, flicking his nose on the last word. Her eyes danced mischievously.

"I'll show you _fish_, you little…" he growled, grabbing her shoulders and pulling her close. Her eyes closed as he leaned in.

"Hey hey hey!" a voice suddenly interrupted their almost-kiss. Eric had pulled his attention away from his game to pick them out. Instinctively, Rachel put her hand on Cedric's chest and pushed him away, noting with pleasure that he was blushing – probably as much as she was. The room suddenly filled with whoops and catcalls as both of them laughed in nervous embarrassment. Eric bounded across the room to ruffle Cedric's hair and clap a hand on Rachel's shoulder. "I knew it!" he cried in boyish glee. "Took you two long enough!"

Cedric uttered a half-laugh, wiping his lips with his fingers. "Excuse me?" he asked, looking a little confused.

"Oh come on!" Eric groaned exaggeratedly. "How could you not see it? We've all known from the first day of First Year! You two were _designed_ for each other!" When Rachel and Cedric traded mystified glances, Eric just groaned again. "Whatever. Just kiss the girl!"

Shrugging, Cedric pulled Rachel into a quick, firm kiss amid the catcalls and cheers that broke out throughout the room. A few of the third years called out, "Kiss her again!"

"Alright, shut up, all of you!" Cedric called out, raising his voice above the noise of the crowd. "Can't you come up with your own entertainment?"

Eric regarded his friend with a thoughtful expression on his face. "You're right, Diggory," he said at length, turning suddenly and kissing the closest seventh year girl, one of Rachel's roommates. After cheering him on for several seconds, the others took the hint and the attention of the crowd broke and spread back to the various games and forms of celebration taking place.

Cedric took Rachel's hand and pulled her to her feet. "Come on," he said, grinning, "time to celebrate with the rest of us."

Rolling her eyes, Rachel allowed her best friend to drag her into a rousing game of "Name that Hex."

* * *

Her earlier worries didn't resurface until the next morning, when she saw Cho coming toward them at breakfast. As the pretty Ravenclaw came up behind them and slipped her arms around Cedric's neck, Rachel found herself staring determinedly at her plate. She felt rather than saw Cedric turn around to face Cho and place a brief kiss on her lips. "I'll meet you outside in a few minutes, okay?" he said quietly. "I need to talk to Rachel for a sec."

"Oh," Cho replied, sounding a little surprised. "Okay."

Still staring intensely into the puddles of syrup around her pancakes, Rachel heard Cho's receding footsteps and felt Cedric turn back around and nudge her. At last, she looked up and met the question in his eyes. "Alright," Cedric said, with the air of a person struggling to reach a decision, "I need to know right now, Rae. Yes or no?"

Confused, Rachel took a bite before setting down her fork. Swallowing hard, she looked at him. "I don't quite understand…"

He grasped her hand, his eyes an intense shade of gray. "I've told you how I feel. Do you feel the same way?"

For some reason, her brain was refusing to catch up with her ears. "Wait… what?"

Cedric's face fell. "You don't do you?" She opened her mouth to reply, but he waved it away. "It's okay. I get it." Abruptly he got up and strode out into the entrance hall.

"Wait, Ced," she called after him, "don't be like that." When he didn't stop, she got up, and chased him out into the hallway. "Ced, wait." He turned around, hands stuffed into his pants pockets. "I don't know what you thought I meant," she began, gesturing helplessly, "but I wasn't trying to hurt you. The truth is…" she sighed and shrugged, "I love you. Always have."

His posture suddenly relaxed and a relieved smile spread across his face. "That's… good to know," he said, plainly trying to contain his pleasure.

She grinned in return and shooed him away with a flick of her wrist. "Now stop grinning at me and get to class."

He only grinned in reply.

* * *

_Oh fluff! I love it! My thanks to Bright Eyez17 for her review. She triggered something in my brain that helped me overcome my temporary writer's block regarding this story and I'm glad she did! This chapter turned out much better than my earlier, half-written version. Review please! Let me know what you think of it!_

_Yours Truly, _

_Elena_


	11. In a Jam

**Chapter Eleven: In a Jam**

To Rachel's surprise, Cho was waiting for her outside her Arithmancy class – one of the few classes she didn't have with Cedric. When she came through the door, Cho caught her arm and pulled her to the side. In the light filtering through the windows in the corridor, Rachel could see that Cho's eyes were glassy and mildly bloodshot: she'd been crying.

"Rachel," Cho began in a pleading voice, "you have to help me. Ced's broken up with me and I don't know why. Could you talk to him, please? What have I done wrong?"

A sinking feeling settled around Rachel's insides. _So, that's why Cedric didn't show up to lunch,_ she thought. And, unfortunately for her, Cho had decided to come running to her for help. Gathering her wits, Rachel put a hand around Cho's shoulder and said gently, "What did he say to you?" Gently but firmly, she began walking, leading Cho outside to the courtyards.

"Well," Cho replied, wiping at her eyes, "he was really nice about it, actually. He said he really liked me and respected me, but he couldn't keep forcing himself to feel more for me than he does." She chuckled nervously. "I kind of noticed myself that it wasn't the same anymore, but I thought that it was my fault. You don't think it was, do you?" she suddenly asked, turning wide, anxious eyes on Rachel's face.

"No, Cho, I don't think it was your fault. Ced's a little hard to keep tied down. He's kind of… spontaneous, sometimes."

"Okay," Cho murmured, seemingly comforted. Rachel released the younger girl's shoulders and began to just walk beside her. Cho turned to her again, rather suddenly. "You don't think it was another girl, do you?" she asked worriedly.

Rachel felt a pang of guilt and worry. She couldn't do this to Cho. Cho was sweet and kind and innocent, and even though Cedric had made the first move in this scenario, she felt as though she'd stolen him away from the younger Ravenclaw. It would break Cho's heart. Much as she hated to lie, she hurriedly said, "No, Cho. It's not another girl. Not that I know of, anyway."

Cho smiled at last. "And you would know," she said confidently. She stopped and laid a hand on Rachel's arm. "Thanks, Rae. I knew I could trust you to understand. And I'm glad we're friends."

Her words sent another lance of guilt flashing through Rachel's heart and she could only smile half-heartedly in response. When Cedric had kissed her the day before, she'd never imagined that she could be stuck in such a difficult situation. Something needed to be done. She waved a brief farewell to Cho and turned in the direction of the Hufflepuff common room, hoping Cedric would be there.

* * *

As she hurried back inside and down the corridor, she almost ran into Eric. Just as surprised as she was, he caught her shoulders, his smile widening as he registered her face. "Well well well, if isn't one half of the Hufflepuff lovebirds," he said teasingly.

Casting an anxious backward glance to make sure Cho was nowhere in sight, she pressed a finger against her friend's lips. "Hush, you!" she scolded. "You're not helping matters!" When he looked confused, she sighed and tugged him into an empty classroom.

"Merlin's beard, Rae, are you playing every guy in Hufflepuff?" he teased again as she pulled the door shut. "I appreciate the gesture, but really, I don't think Cedric would like to find out that you've been snogging me in an empty classroom."

"Really Eric!" she exclaimed in exasperation, "You are impossible! I'm being serious here! I'm in a jam and I need your help!"

His features sobered ever so slightly and he relaxed and crossed his arms in front of him expectantly. "Okay. What's the matter?"

"It's Cho! She just came to talk to me about Cedric breaking up with her!"

"Calm down, Rae," Eric said soothingly, "That's a good thing for you, remember?"

Frustrated, she ran a hand through her hair. "No, it's not. She thinks… I don't know what she thinks, but I told her that Cedric only broke up with her because he didn't feel the way he used to about her. I said there wasn't another girl."

"Well, that was rather stupid of you, seeing as you _are_ the other girl," Eric commented.

"You didn't see her face, Eric! It would have shattered her. She's already emotional enough about the breakup, and if I told her that Cedric left her for another girl – for _me_ no less – she would have lost it completely. I can't do that to her! I can't deal with this! Please, Eric," she pleaded, "I need your help on this."

For once, he had nothing snide or teasing to say. Instead, he regarded her seriously for several seconds, his arms still folded across his chest. Finally he said, "Okay. Here's what I'm going to do for you, Rae. This is your problem that you have to deal with, and how you choose to go about it is your responsibility, but I can at least help by laying off about you and Ced. I'll get the others to do it, too."

Rachel mulled over his words for several more moments. "Alright," she said at last, "the simple truth is, I can't hurt Cho. She _is_ a friend, even if I used to resent her for taking Cedric away. It's not fair to her." She looked up at Eric, pain in her eyes. "I love Cedric. I really do. But for now, we have to keep this whole thing out of sight. I won't go out with him, I won't act any different around him than I normally do. We're still just friends."

Eric bit his lip, obviously disagreeing with her decision, but he nodded. "I may not like this solution much, but I'll help you out, Rae." He patted her shoulder. "Now get going; Ced's waiting for you in the common room."

* * *

When she stepped into the common room, Cedric jumped up from his seat on the couch and approached her, smiling broadly. "Hey you!" he greeted her, leaning in to kiss her cheek. She stopped the gesture with a hand on his chest. He leaned back to look at her. "What's wrong?"

Her hand was trembling and her eyes seemed unable to focus on any one thing. Taking a nervous breath, she said, "I can't date you, Ced."

Confusion replaced the sparkle in his eyes. "What do you mean?"

"Cho." She looked away from his face, toward the fire. "She came and found me today."

His eyes suddenly filled with understanding as he seemed to figure out what she was trying to say. "You're right," he said reluctantly, "we can't do that to her."

She met his eyes again. "So we're just friends, right?"

He smiled painfully. "Yeah. Just friends."

"Okay." Gently, she squeezed his arm and moved past him to go up to her room and get her homework.

* * *

_Ooh! Sadness! I've actually been in a similar situation and it totally sucks. I hope she didn't come off too angsty. She actually has a good reason, rather than that "she's afraid to love and scared to change the relationship" junk that I see too much of. And don't worry, Rae's not going to get all angsty over this "forbidden love" situation in the next chapters. She'll be just as spirited and unconquerable as ever! Let me know what ya'll think, as always! I'm going to keep trying to update pretty quickly because I'm on a break right now and starting next week, I'll be working everyday, so my writing time's going to be cut down. I aim to get this story done before school starts up in the fall, so hopefully I can! Enjoy! And don't forget to check out some of my other stories if you like this one!_

_Loves! _

_Elena_


	12. Playacting

**Chapter Twelve: Playacting**

"Hey sleepyhead!" The voice of Rachel's roommate, Carly, lanced through her restless dreams, and a pillow smacked her across the side of her head.

"Mmmm," Rachel groaned in protest and turned over, pulling her own pillow over her head to protect it from further assault.

"C'mon, Rae!" Carly said, pushing on Rachel's side and tugging her covers off, "It's a beautiful Sunday and Ced and Eric are getting everyone together to play some quidditch!"

Rachel pulled the covers back over her body, mumbling something that sounded vaguely like, "Too early."

Tossing her mane of blonde hair, Carly put her hands on her hips and regarded her friend sternly. "Come _on_, Rae, before I magic a pail of ice water over your head!"

"Alright, alright!" Rachel grumbled, sitting up and pushing her hair out of her face. Blearily, she rubbed the sleep out of her eyes and pulled on some comfortable Muggle clothes that were suitable for flying. Stumbling to the loo that she and the four other seventh year girls shared, she brushed the tangles out of her hair and pulled it up into a ponytail. Carly stood behind her, impatiently tapping her foot as Rachel finished getting ready.

"Good enough," she proclaimed after Rachel had washed her face and brushed her teeth. "Let's go," she added, grabbing her friend's arm and tugging her down the stairs to the common room.

Cedric, Eric, and the three other seventh year boys were already waiting for them in the common room. Seeing Rachel's mild scowl, Cedric bounded up to her, overflowing with what she considered to be a ridiculous amount of energy for that time of the morning. "G'morning, sunshine," he greeted her, nudging her sharply with his elbow. "Ready to play some quidditch?"

Rachel regarded him with a mixture of annoyance and surprise. He seemed to have gotten over his rather gloomy mood of the night before, and now his eyes betrayed no hint of his feelings. He was treating her just the way he always had. _Good_, she thought, _that makes it easier on me._

* * *

Since the TriWizard Tournament had cancelled all quidditch events, they had no problems with having to share the pitch with anyone else. Cedric's position as a Captain also granted them access to the equipment. In the dressing rooms, he handed out brooms to those who did not have their own and dragged the trunk containing the four balls out of its cupboard. "Okay," he said, glancing around at his fellow seventh years, "we'll just be playing with the Quaffle today. If we're feeling particularly daring, we can try playing with one Bludger, seeing as how we've only got a few people. We'll divide up evenly, five players to a team, boy girl, boy girl. Eric, you're the other team captain. Rae, think of a number between one and ten." He looked at Eric. "Closest guess gets first pick." 

_Three_, Rachel thought, _that's the number of times Cedric's kissed me…_ "Okay, make your guesses, boys," she said aloud.

"Seven," Eric said immediately. When the other glanced at him, he shrugged. "What? It's a lucky number."

Cedric glared at his friend. "Well, I say five. Dead center."

Rachel grinned. "Three. Make your choice, Ced."

"Alright, Miss Schickling, if you insist. And thank you for volunteering to be on my team," he added cheekily, pointing to the spot at his side. "Now get over here."

She planted her feet and placed her hands on her hips. "What if I wanted to be on Eric's team?"

"You have no say in the matter," he retorted, pressing his lips together in a resolute expression.

Shaking her head, she relented and went to stand by his side.

Eric grinned at her when Cedric's attention was away from them and mouthed, "You flirt." She only shook her head in disagreement. He nodded again and tapped the side of his nose knowingly before clearing his throat and speaking aloud. "Carly, get your pretty blondeness over here." Rachel smiled inwardly; she had a sneaking suspicion that Eric was sweet on Carly and this was his way of showing it without it being too obvious.

"Sean," Cedric said, pointing to his tall, lanky roommate.

"Daniel," Eric replied, eyeing Cedric with a wicked grin playing across his lips. "I've got the better team already, Diggory."

"That's what you think," Cedric retorted. "Melissa, you're over here."

"Victoria, you're on the kick-Diggory's-butt team."

One girl and one boy remained. "We'll take Alexandra," Cedric said. When Eric smirked, he added, "Never underestimate females, mate."

"Alright, alright," Eric conceded, "Nathan, you're over here. Now, let's quit dawdling, daylight's a burnin'."

They all filed out into the brisk morning. Spring was on its way, but winter still managed to sneak in a crisp tang on the breeze. The chill was soon forgotten, however, as a rowdy game of quidditch quickly ensued. Of all involved, Cedric and Eric were the only ones with any real skill and only Cedric excelled in the sport, hence, his position as Captain of the Hufflepuff team. Because of this, Cedric often had to dive after the Quaffle to rescue it before it hit the ground, resulting in a lot of good-natured teasing and bickering over who was actually in possession of the ball. Once, while trying to intercept a pass, Cedric plowed right into Rachel and only a quick catch prevented her from being unseated. Cedric's arms wrapped around her waist as they both broke into fits of laughter, while the others bent double over their brooms. Soon after that, they decided to call it quits and head in for breakfast.

* * *

The early morning and vigorous exercise left them all ravenous and they hurriedly put their things away and rushed up to the castle to eat. All except for Rachel and Cedric. Cedric was putting the balls away, making sure they were locked securely in their case, while Rachel put the school brooms back in the cupboards according to their make and model and shouldered Cedric's _Nimbus 2001_. "All set," Cedric said at last, scanning the dressing rooms one last time to make sure that nothing was out of place. He extended an arm. "Come on, let's get something to eat." 

Rachel took his proffered arm with a cheeky grin. "It's about time you learned manners," she teased as they began to walk across the grounds and up to the castle.

"Manners, eh?" he said, regarding her with a thoughtful expression. "You mean like this?" Suddenly, he reached across with his free arm and tugged playfully on a strand of her ponytail.

"Hey!" she cried in protest, batting his hand away. "Watch yourself, Mr. Diggory! I'll have to report you if you don't behave!"

Almost casually, he prodded her ribs with his elbow, causing her to shriek in surprise and dart out of reach, dropping his broom in the process. "You devil!" she seethed between laughs. She shrieked again as he caught up his broom and began to chase her the rest of the way up the hill toward the castle. He caught up to her as they entered the main doors and suddenly, he wrapped his arms around her waist from behind and tugged her into one of the antechambers in the Entrance Hall.

"I win," he gloated, breathing heavily from his run up the hill. He set his broom against the wall, using the moment to regain his breath. Winded, Rachel nodded reluctantly and leaned back against the wall. Cedric's eyes searched hers for a minute and he leaned in, one hand on the wall behind her. His lips were just inches from hers when she suddenly remembered herself and pushed him away.

"No, Ced," she said, not wanting to meet his eyes.

He responded by grabbing her wrists and holding them against his chest with his free hand. "There's nothing that says I can't kiss my best friend," he murmured in a low voice, leaning in again and kissing her mouth before she could open it to protest. Her resistance dissolved at his touch, and she pulled her hands free of his grip to slide up his chest and into the hair at the nape of his neck. His free hand came up to trace the lines of her face with the tips of his fingers. He kissed her long and hard, savoring the taste and feel of her lips on his. At last, he pulled away, placing one last, light, teasing kiss on her lips before taking a step back to give her some space. She opened her eyes to gaze at him for a long moment until her mind caught up with her senses and she suddenly shook her head and wiped her lips. Her anger flared. "Dang it, Ced, _stop doing that_!" she hissed. "What about Cho?"

His eyes flashed and he set his jaw stubbornly. "Listen, Rae, if you want to say we're just friends, then we're just friends. I'm fine with that. But like I said before, there's nothing that says I can't kiss my best friend – when no one else is looking." Leaning in, he kissed her lightly on the cheek and walked out of the antechamber, leaving her alone with her thoughts.

* * *

_Yay for Ced! I'm prodigiously proud of him in this chapter. And Rae's not too angsty, just like I promised! Oh, and, weirdly enough, I've actually played Quidditch before. Granted, without the broomsticks, but we had the three hoops and everything. Well, no snitch, either, but there IS a Muggle-fied way to have the snitch. Basically the whole game was mix of Ultimate, basketball, soccer, and dodgeball. Way, way fun! But yeah, enough rambling. My thanks to Bright Eyez17 (again! I might as well just call you my muse and leave it at that!) once again for her helpful reviews and messages that helped me overcome the minor writer's block I suffered after writing chapter 11. I plan to use a variation of your little plot bunny, B.E., so thank you! Please review, all of you! Bright Eyez isn't the only one who can be of help, though I will always appreciate her for it!_

_Loves! _

_Elena_


	13. Just A Little Competition

**Chapter Thirteen: Just A Little Competition**

Rachel followed Cedric several minutes later, still lost in thought. She wasn't entirely sure if she agreed with him, but for some reason, her brain just couldn't come up with a decent rebuttal to his logic.

"Rachelle!" a French voice hailed her suddenly. Looking up in surprise, she saw Pierre coming towards her. "We nevair fineeshed our danze," he said, smiling charmingly and giving her a shadow of a wink. "How about we szpend some time togezer later zis aftairnoon."

"You know," Rachel said, gesturing carelessly with one hand, "I'd love to, Pierre, but I have some last minute homework I need to finish up for tomorrow."

"Meybee I will come see you, eef you are not een your common room."

"Oh, I will be," she hurried to assure him. Before he could say anything else, she turned and walked swiftly into the Great Hall and seated herself next to Cedric, heaving a sigh of relief.

He glanced at her. "What's up?"

She gestured back the way she'd come. "Pierre. He wants to 'zpend zome time togezer' later today."

"And what did you tell him?" Cedric asked with interest.

"I told him I have homework to do in my common room."

Her best friend snorted into his drink. "You liar! You had all your homework done yesterday morning!"

"Yeah, well I'm not all that interested in what Pierre has to offer," she replied offhandedly.

Cedric glanced at her again, trying to figure out whether or not she meant anything by it. She only smiled. Eric, sitting across from them by Carly, watched them both with interest and traded a knowing look with Carly.

* * *

They finished breakfast and got up to leave, weaving their way through some of the other students milling around in the Great Hall. As they wandered along the corridors that led to their common room, Cedric nudged Rachel sharply. "So, I guess you're just planning on hiding out in the common room all day," he said. "That's too bad because we were going to hang out by the lake and watch the Weasley twins compete with Eric for girls." 

"Oh?" Rachel asked innocently, "Aren't you going to compete?" He looked at her in consternation and she rolled her eyes. "Come _on_, it's not like you don't know that half of the female population of Hogwarts practically swoons every time you smile."

"I don't ever see _you_ swooning when I smile," he pointed out.

She snorted. "I'm immune to your charms, Ced. Growing up for seventeen years with you will do that to a person."

He shot her an irritated look, then shrugged carelessly. "All the same, it's a pity you'll be missing out on the fun."

They'd reached their common room and she entered and turned around to face him with a sigh. "Fine," she grumbled, "You've rubbed it in enough. I'll go. But I'm blaming you if Pierre tries to start anything."

He grinned impishly. "He wouldn't dare." Before she could even react, he grabbed her around the waist and kissed her firmly on the lips.

Pushing him away in mock outrage, she glared at him in surprise. "Do you have some compulsive need to go around _kissing_ people?!" she demanded as Eric, Carly, and the rest of their friends whooped and doubled over in fits of laughter.

"Your… face… Rae…" Eric managed to gasp between laughs. He gestured helplessly as another fit of laughter forced him to sink into a chair. "Classic."

Cedric was also laughing. "No, I just enjoy the reaction I get from _you_," he said, "One would think you didn't like it."

"Alright, alright," she grumbled, giving in to her friends. Raising her hands in surrender, she added, "Let's just all go down to the lake and watch this 'competition' because Rachel's getting tired of being your source of amusement."

"_Rachel_ is also starting to speak in third person," Carly pointed out, still struggling to hold back her laughter. "It's a sign that she's not thinking clearly. Kiss her again, Ced, and she might just start babbling like an idiot."

"I refuse to dignify that with a reply," Rachel retorted, pushing her roommate into Eric's lap. His arms closed around Carly's waist, causing her to squeal in surprise and struggle to get to her feet, which didn't work too well, since Eric was not a scrawny guy.

"Eric Chamley," Carly threatened, squeaking in protest when he poked her, "You let me up right now, or so help me, I will curse you into oblivion!"

"Can you reach your wand, dearie?" Rachel asked innocently.

"Alright, you guys," Cedric interrupted, bringing order to the chaos. "Eric, let Carly up and let's all go down to the lake. I mean, it's not like it's not obvious."

To both Cedric and Rachel's delight, Eric blushed deep crimson as he released his hold on Carly's waist and allowed her to get to her feet. Eric also stood, shooting a scathing look at Cedric. Cedric only shrugged. He slung an arm around Rachel's shoulder and walked her out the door of the Hufflepuff common room.

Behind them, Rachel heard Carly ask Eric in a low voice, "What's obvious?"

She heard him mumble a reply as she and Cedric stopped to wait for them. A few seconds later, they emerged, Carly eyeing Eric thoughtfully while Eric looked remarkably unhinged, his eyes darting nervously and his hands clenching and unclenching in his pockets.

As the foursome retraced their steps through the corridors and headed outside, Rachel elbowed Cedric gently, "I hope you haven't put him off his game. Otherwise you'll have to fill in for him."

"Ah, he'll get over it," Cedric replied confidently. He cast another glance at her. "Do girls really faint when I smile?"

Rachel laughed and ruffled his hair. "You're cute when you're being naïve." He swatted her hand away in annoyance and she conceded, "I was exaggerating a _little_, but yes, a good percentage of the girls at this school are absolutely crazy for you."

His eyebrows knit together as he digested this piece of information. "How do you know?"

"Ced," she scoffed, giving him an incredulous look, "I'm a girl, okay? I just know." They approached where Weasley twins were waiting under a budding maple by the lake. "Hey boys," she greeted them, "how's the competition looking so far?"

"Well there's a pretty little Ravenclaw over there," George – or Fred – replied, pointing to a girl Rachel had sometimes seen with Cho, who was sitting on a bench, reading.

"Hey George," Fred said, nudging his twin suddenly, "look at that blonde girl coming this way! She looks like the hard-to-get type." He addressed Eric, "Whoever gets her to consent to dinner in Hogsmeade this Saturday wins first round."

"Um, Ced?" Rachel whispered, "Isn't that…?"

"Shh," Cedric hushed her as Carly flipped her long blonde hair and settled herself gracefully on a bench some distance away.

Eric winked at his friends before shaking the twins' hands. "Deal. You first, Fred."

* * *

_So, my plot was basically shot last time I posted this and between that and the strange lack of reviews, I took it down, intending some serious revamping, but on closer look, I find I actually like this chapter, so I'm reposting it, with only a few minor changes that'll help me out in my future plotting. So sorry about the long wait. Review, please! I'm struggling to motivate myself to sit down and write right now, but a little encouragement goes a long way. _

_Loves!_

_Elena_


	14. Getting the Girl

**Chapter Fourteen: Getting the Girl**

Rachel leaned comfortably back against the maple to watch as Fred winked at his twin and nonchalantly approached Carly's bench. "G'day miss," he said, adopting a passable imitation of the old Gryffindor Quidditch Captain's heart-melting Scottish lilt. Oh, Rachel remembered that accent well. How many times had she hung around with Cedric in her fifth year, hoping that he'd introduce her to the extremely good-looking Oliver Wood? She chuckled softly as she remembered how annoyed Cedric had been with her crush on the Gryffindor captain.

* * *

"_He's in Gryffindor, for Merlin's sake, Rae!" Cedric had exclaimed in exasperation one day._

"_So?" she'd retorted, determined not to be so easily thrown off._

"_This is my rival you're talking about!"_

"_What's that supposed to mean?" she'd replied._

_Cedric's mouth worked furiously as he chewed on his tongue before stalking away without replying._

* * *

Fortunately for their friendship and for the sake of her loyalty to Hufflepuff, she'd abandoned her crush on the older boy shortly into her sixth year after seeing him lip-locked with one of his Chasers in an empty corridor after hours. 

Her soft laugh had drawn Cedric's attention. "What's so funny?" he asked as he lay down on his side next to her, propped up on his elbow so he could observe Fred's attempts to woo Carly.

"Nothing," she replied through a smile, "Just memories."

"Of?"

She paused for a minute, gauging how safe it would be to torment her best friend. "Remember, in our fifth year, when I had that huge crush on Oliver Wood?"

"Oh." Cedric's lips pressed together in a recognizable gesture of displeasure.

Still studying him for signs of going too far, Rachel continued, "Well, Fred's so good at that Scottish brogue, it reminded me of him."

Wearing a closed expression, Cedric only grunted noncommittally.

_You're starting to push it, Rae,_ she thought to herself. Just one more jab. "I'm allowed to have crushes on other guys, right? I mean, since you agreed that we're just friends." She paused and waited. Cedric said nothing. Finally, she grinned and ruffled his hair affectionately. "I'm glad you're so touchy about it. You passed the test."

He looked up at her again in surprise. "What?"

She nudged him gently. "I was over Wood by sixth year. I thought you knew that."

"Oh," Cedric said, feigning carelessness, "yeah, I knew that."

_Liar,_ she thought, grinning inwardly as she turned her attention back on Carly, who was now walking toward them with Fred, who'd apparently convinced her to come and sit with them under the maple. As Fred exchanged triumphant glances with George, Carly winked at Rachel and allowed her eyes to flick almost casually in Eric's direction. Rachel raised an eyebrow. Did her roommate know that Eric liked her, or did she just like him and want him to win? _Hmm, matchmaking opportunity here…_Rachel mused inwardly.

"Hey Rae," Carly said aloud as she sat down beside Fred.

"Hey Carly," Rachel replied, fighting to keep from laughing at the surprise in the twins' eyes, "did you finish that translation for Vector? The one you kept me up all night with?"

"Wait," George suddenly said before Carly could reply, "you _know_ her??"

Eric swelled with pleasure. "You little sixth years should keep up with who your seniors are," he teased. Then, getting up and bowing extravagantly, he extended a hand to Carly. "I'd be very much pleased if you'd consent to accompany a fellow _seventh year_," he placed a delicate stress on the last two words, shooting a glance at the twins, "to Hogsmeade for dinner this Saturday."

Rachel and Cedric burst into gales of laughter at the thunderstruck looks on both the twins' faces as Carly actually blushed and placed her hand in his, allowing him to place a light kiss on the back of her hand.

"Oy!" Fred exclaimed indignantly, "You rigged it, Chamley! You knew her!"

"Bloody brilliant, mate," George conceded appreciatively, "So what? She your girlfriend?"

Still a bit riled, but obviously impressed, Fred said, a bit enviously, "You knew she'd say yes. I declare a rematch… this time a _Slytherin_."

"He can't compete," Carly suddenly said, cutting off the coming argument, "He's already got a date to Hogsmeade. Sorry boys."

Eric's expression of triumph changed to one of surprised delight in a millisecond. As the twins sent him looks of disgusted admiration and got up to join their fellow Gryffindors, he stared at Carly in disbelief. "You're still going to go with me? Even though you know it was a joke?"

Cedric and Rachel traded meaningful looks as Carly shrugged. "Why not?" she asked reasonably, "I get a free dinner out if it, don't I?"

"Dinner's always free here," Cedric muttered in Rachel's ear. This logic was lost on Eric, however, who simply stood, staring dumbly at Carly.

Finally, she took pity on him and, daintily going up on tiptoe, placed a quick kiss on his lips before smiling at Rachel and dashing up the lawn to the castle, blushing furiously.

Still thunderstruck, Eric remained frozen for a full half-minute before the reality of what had just happened had sunk in. Then suddenly, with a great whoop, he punched the air and spun around in a little victory dance. "She kissed me!" he exclaimed to Rachel and Cedric, his arms spread wide in euphoria.

Rachel had by now buried her face in Cedric's shoulder, laughing so hard that she was crying, while Cedric struggled to contain himself long enough to say, in his driest tone, "Yeah, we um… kind of noticed."

* * *

_So? Like it? I kind of wanted to focus on a different couple for a bit. It makes the group more well-rounded and adds some depth. Plus, too much Cedric/Rachel fluff gets cliche. More drama stuff coming soon, at the request of Bright Eyez17! Object now if you want to! If not, on we go! _

_Loves!_


	15. Making It Official

**Chapter Fifteen: Making It Official**

One week later, Rachel awoke once again to Carly smacking her around with a pillow. "Hogsmeade today!" her roommate chirped.

"Yeah, yeah, I've heard," Rachel grumbled, sitting up and blinking in the light streaming through their dormitory window. "You wouldn't shut up about it last night, remember?"

Carly ignored this. "Come _on_, Rae!" she moaned impatiently. Then, with a mischievous twinkle in her eye, she added, "_Cedric's_ waiting for you!"

Glaring reproachfully at her friend, Rachel fought down the tingling rush that Cedric's name sent through her body. "For the last time, _we're not dating_. So give it a rest okay? That's not going to work on me."

Tossing her gorgeous blonde hair flippantly, Carly only smirked and turned away to finish getting ready. Rachel glared at her friend's back in mild annoyance, painfully aware of how well Carly could read and manipulate her. Sighing in defeat, she flicked her covers off her legs and got to her feet, stumbling wearily over to her trunk and pulling out something suitable to wear for a day in Hogsmeade. When Carly at last turned back around to look at Rachel, she tsked in disapproval at Rachel's outfit choice. "You've got to look nicer than _that_ for Cedric," she clucked, going over and beginning to dig through Rachel's clothes.

"Hey!" Rachel spluttered indignantly as Carly began to hold up shirts against the pants she was wearing. "We're _not_ dating!" Carly only smiled mystically and Rachel sighed as her friend continued to search for the "appropriate" top. "You're utterly infuriating, you know that?" she grumbled crossly.

"No, dear," Carly replied sweetly, "_you_ are. And you're ridiculously stubborn to boot. Here," she said abruptly, tossing a pretty, sheer sweater at her, "it's mine – you don't have anything that's clean enough right now. Wear it over that pretty blue undershirt and you'll look superb."

Shaking her head in exasperation, Rachel grudgingly acquiesced. "Ever the fashionista, aren't you," she asked her friend as she donned the sweater.

A knock on their door interrupted Carly's reply. Hannah Abbot, a pretty little fourth year, peeked in. "I have a message from Eric Chamley. He's wondering what in the name of Ptolemy is taking you so friggin' long."

Rachel laughed, while Carly blushed faintly at the mention of Eric's name. "Were those his exact words?" Rachel asked the younger girl as her roommate concealed her reaction by attacking Rachel's brown hair with a brush. "Ouch!" Rachel suddenly yelped as Carly's brush hit a snag in her hair, forcing Hannah to stuff a fist in her mouth to keep from laughing, "That hurt, Carly!"

Hannah bit back her laughter and addressed Rachel once again. "Those were his exact words," she affirmed. "And Cedric Diggory wants to let you know that he's going to leave without you both in about thirty seconds." Rachel noticed that Hannah blushed as she delivered Cedric's message, apparently pleased that the Hogwarts Champion and Golden Boy had spoken to her.

"Okay!" Carly cried, abandoning Rachel's hair – which really didn't need much brushing anyways – and throwing the brush onto her bed. Grabbing Rachel by the hand, she tugged her past Hannah and down the dormitory stairs.

Rachel couldn't help but laugh at her friend's behavior. "Nervous about today, are we?" she whispered as they entered the common room to find Cedric and Eric waiting for them.

"Hush," Carly whispered back, her cheeks flushing again.

Cedric's arms were crossed in front of his chest and he flashed a smile at Rachel that made her go weak at the knees. "Took you girls long enough," he said, grinning and running an appraising eye over Rachel's outfit.

"Rachel's impossible to wake up in the mornings," Carly said quickly.

Cedric raised an eyebrow and Rachel only shrugged. "What can I say?" she said grinning.

"Yet you still look good," Cedric pointed out – Rachel felt her cheeks flush in pleasure – "I'm impressed."

"And you," Eric said suddenly, sweeping a bow and raising Carly's hand to his lips in an extravagant and elegant gesture, "look even better." His eyes twinkled merrily. "Ravishing, in fact."

Carly blushed so deeply that the red could even be seen through her blonde roots. Rachel gave Eric an approving thumbs-up from behind Carly's shoulder. "Nicely done," she mouthed. He grinned impishly in return. Carrying on the chivalric pattern, Eric gallantly offered Carly his arm and escorted her out of the common room, leaving Cedric and Rachel to follow at a distance.

"He's been waiting two years for this," Cedric said in an undertone as they followed Eric and Carly through the entrance hall and down the steps outside.

"I'm pretty sure _she_ has, too," Rachel replied. She cast a sideways glance at him, her eyes darkening in concern. "How are you holding up?" she asked, "You know, under the pressure of the Third Task and all? Are you doing okay?"

She thought she caught a flash of uncertainty in his gray eyes, but he shook it off. "Yeah," he replied, a little too carelessly, "I'm fine."

Wanting to express her concern, but not wanting to give away too much, Rachel struggled to put her thoughts into words. "It's just that… well, in light of all the stuff with Harry Potter and now this whole Eric and Carly thing, I feel like you've kind of been shunted aside. I haven't been helping you focus on the Triwizard Tournament like I should have." She looked away to one side. "You deserve this, Ced. You really do."

He stared at her for a long moment. "Rae…" he began.

But she wasn't finished. "I know I didn't want you to enter and thus far, I've only supported you in the tiniest amount." She grimaced ruefully. "In fact, I was steaming mad at you for most of the time." Shaking her head in self-reproach, she said softly, "I had no right to be. Everyone is in knots about how far Potter's been able to make it in this competition, but no one realizes how much you've given up for the competition. You told him about the egg," she said suddenly, her eyes meeting his with an intensity that surprised her. He blinked in surprise and she hurried to explain. "Eric told me he overheard you that night at the Yule Ball." She studied him keenly. "You could have just not told him and let him lose. Then he'd be out of the running."

"I couldn't," Cedric replied seriously, "Not after what he did for me before the First Task."

"What I'm trying to say is…" she trailed off, trying to figure out just what it was she _was_ trying to say. "Well, what I mean to say is that I'm not just supporting you because you want to do this anymore. I really, really think you deserve to win, and I'm going to support you because _I_ want you to do this."

Cedric stopped suddenly, forcing Rachel to stop as well. She turned back to face him and saw a tumult of emotions swimming in his eyes. "And if I lose?" he asked hoarsely.

She smiled reassuringly. "I have faith in you, Ced."

In one swift movement, he pulled her into a fierce hug and kissed the top of her head. "Thank you," he whispered.

She kissed his cheek. "What are friends for?" she replied.

"Are you two coming or not?" Eric called from several yards ahead of them. He and Carly had paused to look back and see if Cedric and Rachel were still following.

Cedric and Rachel broke apart quickly. "We're coming!" Rachel called, and began to jog to catch up, leaving Cedric to follow in her wake.

* * *

They passed through the gates to Hogsmeade amid a throng of other students and immediately hurried to beat the rush to Zonko's and Honeyduke's, loading up on their favorite sweets and mayhem-causers. As Rachel and Carly amusedly watched their escorts deliberate over a double-pack of exploding snap cards, they noticed Fred and George Weasley working their way through the crowd toward them.

"Oy," Fred greeted them, tossing his head in acknowledgement. Cedric and Eric turned around.

George's eyes flicked to Carly. "So you've still got her then, eh?" he asked, winking at Eric.

Slipping a protective arm around her waist, Eric smirked playfully. "That's right, Weasley, so don't try anything."

Carly grinned cockily at the twins before turning her head and kissing Eric full on the mouth. At this, the twins let out a great whoop, drawing the attention of nearly everyone in the shop. Cedric seemed to forget the tenseness of his earlier conversation with Rachel as the two sagged weakly against each other, laughing and clapping along with everyone else. True to their flamboyant natures, Eric and Carly held on to their kiss for a considerable amount of time, Eric holding her waist and dipping her deeply with his lips still pressed against hers, much to the crowd's delight. Finally, just as Rachel and Cedric were about to intervene, Eric and Carly broke apart and turned to grin unashamedly at the rest of the shop's occupants. Raising his hands in true showmanship, Eric called out, "Thank you! We'll be here all week!"

Several people laughed, including Carly, who leaned against him and wrapped her arms around his waist, her eyes shining in delight. Rachel and Cedric only traded rueful glances and rolled their eyes in mutual amusement. It certainly appeared that Carly and Eric had just irrefutably established their status as a couple.

* * *

_Yeah yeah, I know, I'm still focusing on Eric and Carly's relationship, but I wanted to. Just to make it all official and everything. And sorry about the wait on the drama... it's coming, I promise. I did throw in a sweet little tidbit between Cedric and Rachel about the Triwizard Tournament, since I haven't really focused much on it recently. Sometimes when I'm writing I forget that Cedric is still a Champion, which is good and bad. Good because it means I'm getting into the character behind the Champion. Bad, because I risk sending him OOC. Let me know if that's happening, please! Review! It's like chocolate, and we all know how much I like chocolate! _

_Loves!_

_Elena_


	16. A Conflict of Interests

**Chapter Sixteen: A Conflict of Interests**

Compared to the show Carly and Eric put on in Zonko's, the rest of their day in Hogsmeade passed uneventfully. They wandered up the muddy path to the Shrieking Shack, swapping different tall tales about the place, passed down to them by their parents. Later, they enjoyed a round of butterbeers in the Three Broomsticks, Eric and Carly cuddling cozily on their side of the booth, while Cedric and Rachel sat facing them, careful to keep several inches between them. Aside from Rachel's aversion to showing such public affection, even for her best friend, her determination was also fueled by the fact that Cho had taken up a seat near them with some of her Ravenclaw friends. Every now and then, the young Ravenclaw's eyes flicked in Cedric's direction with a mixture of longing and pain on her face. The sight caused Rachel's insides to squirm unpleasantly. Cedric, however, seemed to take very little notice, except to refrain from even bumping shoulders with her while Cho was watching.

Despite the awkwardness created by Cho's brief appearance in the Three Broomsticks – she didn't stay very long – the four Hufflepuffs made their way back to the castle in high spirits, singing and laughing, their arms all slung over each other's shoulders. The laughter died on Rachel's lips, however, as they entered the castle doors and she saw Pierre waiting for her in the entrance hall. "Excuse me," he said, approaching them as her friends regarded him with bemused expressions, "May I 'ave a word wiz you, Meez Schickling?"

It would be abominably rude to say no, seeing as he hadn't actually ever done anything to give her reason to do so. "Sure," she said aloud, gently extricating herself from the arms of her friends. Following his lead, she moved with Pierre off to one side, out of the way of the main flow of students.

He turned to face her, his eyes dark with an unreadable emotion. "I wos wondering…" he began ponderously, looking somewhat nervous, "eef per'aps you would like to… well…" he trailed off, struggling for words. "Zis iz reedeeculous," he growled. Suddenly, he reached out and pulled Rachel into his arms, pressing his lips against hers. Too surprised to react, she could only let him kiss her before he pulled away seconds later. "Eef I 'ave offended you, mademoiselle, forgeeve me," he murmured, not really looking all that sorry that he had kissed her, "but eet would be my pleazure to be your beaux. Eef you aire not dizguzted by ze idea."

Stunned by such an expression of affection, Rachel's brain seemed to have ground to a halt. Very slowly – almost painfully so – it began to catch up again. "You flatter me, Pierre –"

"Good," he interrupted suddenly, "Zen I will meet you een ze Great 'All een ze morning for ze morning meal." Bowing low, he turned and swept away, moving as gracefully as a cat.

Nonplussed and utterly bewildered, Rachel made her way numbly back to the Hufflepuff common room. "What'd Frenchie want?" Eric asked her as she stepped into the cozily-lit common room. He was sprawled comfortably on one end of a couch near the fire, Carly nestled up against his side. At Rachel's entrance, she'd lifted her head from where it was tucked under Eric's chin to look at her roommate.

Struggling to put her thoughts into coherent sentences, she replied slowly, "He… asked me out."

"What?" Cedric demanded, closing the book he'd been reading with a loud snap. "What'd you say?"

"I uh… didn't really say anything. He didn't give me a chance to. But I think… I think he thinks I agreed."

"You didn't, did you?" Cedric asked sharply.

Rachel bristled a little. "So what if I did? We're not dating, Cedric."

The tension in the room was so thick she was sure she could cut it with a knife. Cedric only stared at her, his eyes closed and unreadable. "I see," he said, at last.

"What's that supposed to mean?" she asked crossly.

"You know what?" Eric suddenly said, sitting up abruptly, "I just realized that I forgot my quill in the library. I'd better go get it."

"I have a book I need to return," Carly announced, following suit and getting up, "I'll go with you, Eric." Without any further commotion, the two of them got up and hastily exited the common room. Rachel watched them go emotionlessly.

She and Cedric remained still and silent for an indefinable amount of time, the crackling of the fire in the hearth the only noise in the room. Finally, Cedric cleared his throat, "Well, I'm going to bed." He made as if to get up.

Rachel couldn't just let him go. "Wait," she said quietly. He regarded her dispassionately, but settled back into his chair once more. "I didn't agree," she confessed in a soft voice.

"Then why did you say you did?"

"I didn't."

"You said, 'So what if I did.' Very distinctly, I might add," he replied, looking away from her, into the fire.

"I'm sorry," she whispered, "It's just that… you were getting so defensive. I know how you feel, but we aren't dating and it's still within my rights to date anyone I choose."

Cedric grimaced and leaned forward, elbows on his knees, his brows knit together in a frown. "You have to remind me of that constantly, don't you?" he growled in annoyance.

"Look," she said, placatingly, "if it's any comfort, I'll take care of it tomorrow. He just assumed I was going to say yes, when I really had no intention of the kind." She walked over where he was sitting and laid a hand on his shoulder. He placed his own hand on her wrist. "You should get some sleep. You have classes tomorrow."

"So do you," he pointed out, looking up at her.

"Yeah, but I'm also not the Hogwarts Champion," she reminded him gently. "You have a lot on your plate." On an impulse, she bent and kissed his forehead. "I'm not going to ditch you for some snobby Beauxbatons boy, Ced," she added quietly as his hands caught hers and held them in place on his shoulders. "Our friendship means more than that."

He looked up before she pulled away, and they were so close to each other that it was a small matter to close the distance between them. Rachel hesitated for a split second before kissing his lips briefly and tenderly. "Just friends, eh?" he murmured against her lips as she started to pull away, his hands still on her wrists.

She smiled and shifted slightly, kissing the corner of his mouth. "I need someone to practice on, don't I?" she asked, leaning into him.

"Hmph," he grunted, turning his face to catch her mouth again, kissing her still more tenderly, shifting his hands to her waist and pulling her down until she was kneeling on the floor in front of his chair. Her hands entwined in his hair, pressing him closer. He eased off a little, pulling away just barely to see if she would kiss him again. "I kiss like a 'cold fish' do I?" he teased gently, briefly leaning back out of reach.

"Absolutely," she affirmed, her hands on either side of his jaw as she pulled him back into another long kiss.

* * *

_Oh fluff! It makes me smile! Just one, maybe two more chapters before the Third Task, I think. We'll see how my next plot device pans out. So let me know what you think! This chapter's mostly just fluff, but that's okay... there's been lots of drama recently to make up for it. Review please! And B.E. thanks so much for your reviews on every chapter! I read your last update but didn't have time to write a review for it, so I will, I promise! I love Eric/Carly too. I admit though, I feel kind of bad for only focusing on a very few characters. That's always something that annoys me about other fanfics. Hopefully I can work out how to get the other Champions and Harry's friends and stuff back into the story in the next few chapters. Mostly it's just Ced and a bunch of my OC's running around... I will fix that, I promise. _

_Loves!_

_Elena_


	17. Unpleasant Reminder

**Chapter Seventeen: Unpleasant Reminder**

"So, did you two resolve everything last night?" Eric asked at breakfast the next morning as Rachel seated herself beside Cedric and cheerfully helped herself to his bacon strips.

Cedric cast a sidelong glance at her, his eyes filled with a mixture of affection and irritation. Still determined to maintain a "just friends" appearance, they'd made sure they were safely in their respective dormitories before Eric and Carly returned. "Yeah," he said, shrugging nonchalantly, filling Rachel's glass with bits of eggshell from his hard-boiled eggs, much to her annoyance. "We're still tolerating each other, aren't we?" he continued, as she overturned her glassful of eggshells on his toast.

Eric hid a grin behind his glass of pumpkin juice, his eyes following the progress of Cedric's hands as they painstakingly began to remove the bits of eggshell from his toast so that he could take a bite of it. "I can see that," he said, trying to keep a straight voice, while beside him, Carly choked on her drink.

"And what took you and Carly so long in the library?" Rachel asked suddenly, as she quickly spread butter and jam on a new piece of toast and placed it on Cedric's plate so that he wouldn't have to hazard taking a bite of missed eggshell. She smiled sweetly as Eric flushed faintly pink. "Surely it doesn't take that long to return a book – which, I might add, is still sitting up in my dormitory on Carly's nightstand – and find a quill?"

It was Cedric's turn to choke and splutter into his drink as both Eric and Carly blushed furiously and Eric mumbled something that sounded oddly like, "Got lost."

"Lost, Eric?" Cedric asked skeptically, hastily snatching up a napkin and wiping his mouth and chin with it, simultaneously hiding his smile. "You've been at Hogwarts for seven years. How in the heck did you get lost?"

Eric blushed still more deeply, until his face strongly rivaled a very ripe strawberry in color, while Carly conveniently dropped her fork and dove out of sight to retrieve it. Both Cedric and Rachel snorted in suppressed laughter and traded triumphant glances before turning their full attention on their food.

A few minutes later, however, after she had regained her composure and normal shade of complexion, Carly broached the topic that still loomed over them. "So Rae, how are you going to deal with the Pierre problem? I mean, he _is_ dreamy and all, _but_," she added hastily as she received dark glances from both Eric and Cedric, "his manners leave a lot to be desired."

Beside her, Rachel saw Cedric's knuckles go white around the stem of his goblet of pumpkin juice at the mention of Pierre. Under the table, out of sight of Eric and Carly, she placed a reassuring hand on his knee.

Almost as though the mention of his name had drawn him to them, Pierre waltzed up with his customary catlike grace and claimed the seat on Rachel's other side. "'Ello," he greeted them in his throaty, resonating, tenor voice, seemingly oblivious to the dark looks Rachel's companions were giving him. "Eet eez a beautiful morning, no?"

"Yeah," Rachel replied tonelessly when it appeared that no one else was going to grant him the courtesy of replying. Under the table, she felt Cedric's hand find hers and hold it in place on his knee. She squeezed reassuringly, casting a soothing glance in his direction.

"Excuse me? Cedric?" a mildly deep voice interrupted before Pierre could say anything else.

Cedric spun around in his seat, and Rachel hastily removed her hand from his knee, craning her head around to see Harry Potter standing hesitantly behind them. "Er, Professor McGonagall wants to see us after breakfast. About the Third Task," he added when Cedric's eyebrows furrowed in confusion.

"Oh." Cedric glanced anxiously at Rachel, clearly concerned that Pierre would try something if he left.

"Hey, Harry," Rachel greeted him, more gently than she had all year. The younger boy looked distinctly surprised at this sudden warmth from someone in Cedric's inner circle. She pretended not to notice this. "Remember me?" she asked, grinning.

It took him a second to register that it had been she who had been a part of their journey to the Quidditch World Cup. "Oh," he said, looking relieved and even allowing a shadow of a smile to flit across his strained features, "yeah."

She immediately felt a rush of sympathy for this poor fourth-year who had been so unfairly thrown into this huge mess. At least Cedric had volunteered to face the demands of the tournament. "Well," she said, gathering her things and getting up, "I've got Potions first thing this morning, so I'd better get going. Take care, Potter," she added, flashing him a friendly smile. Across from her, Eric and Carly were hastily gathering their things and preparing to follow her, clearly determined to prevent her from the danger of being alone with Pierre again. Cedric smiled at them in gratitude before following suit and getting to his feet.

"I'll see you guys in a few, alright?" he told them as he started down the aisle after Harry, who was trotting up toward the staff table.

* * *

At the end of Potions, however, Cedric still had not turned up. Rachel supposed it must have taken longer than planned to go over the terms and conditions of the Third Task. It wasn't until she entered the entrance hall that her annoyance flared. There was a weird feeling in the air. Glancing around, she caught sight of a few boys looking groggy and shaking their heads as though trying to clear away some sort of spell. Then she saw it. Fleur Delacour had stopped Cedric for a chat – _Yeah right, just a 'chat,' _Rachel thought scornfully – and had clearly turned on the old charm for him. A few of the male passersby had gotten a whiff of it, too, and they were beginning to congregate around Fleur. As Eric and Carly caught up to her, Cedric looked up and saw them. To Rachel's immense pleasure, he seemed to shake off the remnants of Fleur's veela-like charm and smiled broadly at her. With a sort of vicious satisfaction, she watched Fleur's face transform into an elegant pout as Cedric broke away from her and wove his way toward the stairs where his fellow Hufflepuffs were waiting.

"You should be flattered," Rachel told him dryly when he drew even with her, "Fleur obviously thinks you're worth turning on her veela-charm for." When he made a face at her, she only smiled sweetly. She knew he'd rather she show a little bit of jealousy, but that would simply be way too easy.

"You know…" Eric said thoughtfully, "I always knew you were pretty, Ced, but by Merlin's spotted underpants, I didn't think you were pretty enough to catch Lady Veela's eye."

"Oh, shut it, Chamley," Cedric growled crossly as they settled into Professor Flitwick's class.

Eric's reply was suddenly cut off by a sharp inhalation from Rachel. Her companions glanced at her to find her staring, panic-stricken at the notice Professor Flitwick was putting up on the large chalkboard at the front of the room. Their eyes followed the direction of her gaze. In large words, a piece of chalk was scribbling on the board in Flitwick's handwriting, "REVIEW FOR N.E.W.T. STANDARD TESTING: COMMENCING ON MONDAY NEXT."

Eric actually swore, while Rachel dropped her head to her desk, groaning. Carly merely sat frozen, staring unblinkingly at the chalkboard. "I'd forgotten about N.E.W.T.'s," Rachel groaned, thumping her head once on the desk. Since Professor Flitwick was busy stacking his customary stack of books on which to stand, both the action and the resulting _thud_ went quite unnoticed by their teacher. "I'm nowhere near ready for them."

"You're lucky you don't have to take them, mate," Eric told Cedric, his voice betraying his envy.

"Well guys," Carly said in an undertone as Professor Flitwick meandered past, passing back papers; she stared glumly at the score her essay had received. "Time to hit the books."

* * *

_Sorry it's kind of a blah chapter in comparison to others. Just a plot-progressor. smiles cheerily Gotta have 'em! However, I kind of liked the little wordless exchange between Ced/Rae over the eggshells. I was going for a friendly "battle of wills" sort of thing with it. Just to help me keep their relationship in perspective. Heaven smite me now if they suddenly turn all lovey-dovey and overly courteous towards each other. Their personalities wouldn't permit such an atrocity. _

_Review and let me know what you think! My thanks to all the WONDERFUL reviews I received on my last chapter. I love you all for it! And if you must know, the volume of kind reviews kind of guilt-tripped me back into sitting down and writing, which is a good thing, since I've really needed the time and the excuse to do so. So thank you!_

_Elena_


	18. Lessons in Deception

**Chapter Eighteen: Lessons in Deception**

Over the next several days, Rachel, Eric, Carly, and many of their yearmates could be found in the library, each buried behind stacks of books and old notes. The tension and stress felt by the seventh years could only be rivaled by that of the fifth years preparing to sit their O.W.L.'s. As a result, the library was actually fairly crowded. However, one did not go through seven years of wizarding school without benefiting from a few perks: seventh years had a later curfew, and they could therefore take advantage of that time to study at their leisure without having to suffer through the frantic whisperings and scuffles of frazzled fifth years.

A couple of weeks into May found Rachel sequestered behind a stack of Transfiguration books at the table that she had claimed for her own. She sighed wearily as she stared unseeingly at the same sentence of the chapter she was supposed to be reading. _Cedric is really so much better at this,_ she groaned inwardly, _What in the name of everything holy possessed me to take N.E.W.T. level Transfiguration?_ Well, truth be told, she had taken it in hopes of qualifying to pursue her dream career as an Experimental Potions Developer, an obscure field of study that required a N.E.W.T. in just about every subject under the sun, due to its dangerous and highly volatile work environment. Although she figured she'd settle for something in the medical field if she had to. Something relating to potion-based remedies for St. Mungo's, perhaps.

The soft tread of footsteps alerted her to the presence of someone else in her section of the library, which, up to that point, had been entirely deserted, save for her. "Meess Rachelle?" a familiar voice inquired from the other side of her pile of books.

"Pierre, it's _Rachel_, not _Rachelle_," she grumbled softly, giving up on trying to finish the chapter on animagi that she was supposed to be reviewing for the Theory of Transfiguration part of the exams.

"My apologies," he replied, equally softly, coming around the edge of the table so she could see him. "Eef you don't mind, I couldn't 'elp but notice zat you seem to be 'aving a difficult time studying zis subject."

She allowed a small, rueful smile. "Transfiguration has never been my strong suit."

"Eet ees my best subject," he said confidently, pulling out the chair beside her. "Per'aps I may geeve you a few 'elpful 'ints."

"Well, er…" Rachel began, struggling with the pros and cons of the possibility. Cedric could help her, of course, but she didn't want to distract him from the Third Task. On the other hand, if he knew that she was being tutored by Pierre, he'd likely be so annoyed that he wouldn't bother to even _try_ to focus on the Third Task. But she _did_ need the help, and Pierre had nothing else going on. "Well, alright. Just for tonight, though."

"Of course," he replied in a thoroughly noncommittal tone.

With that, they began. He asked her a series of questions to discover what she knew and didn't know, then began to flip through books, looking up helpful information and showing her how to improve her practical technique. When she returned to the Hufflepuff common room a couple of hours later, it was with a renewed confidence in her ability to pass her Transfiguration N.E.W.T. and she promptly claimed her favorite fluffy armchair and pulled out her copy of _A Guide to Advanced Transfiguration_.

"How're you coming with Transfiguration?" she heard a pleasantly familiar voice whisper gently as Cedric leaned over the back of the armchair to read over her shoulder.

"Fine," she replied, pleased with herself that, thanks to Pierre's explanations, the chapter on animagi that she was now reading actually made a lot of sense to her.

"Do you want any help with any of it?"

Rachel winced, grateful that Cedric was behind her and couldn't see her face. "No, Ced, I think I'm doing okay."

"Oh," she heard him say, "Well, let me know if you do." He turned to go up the stairs – presumably to go to bed.

"Actually," she said suddenly, closing her book and turning in her seat to look at him over the back of the chair, "I've been thinking, and I really want you to just focus on the Third Task. I don't want to distract you from preparing properly. You deserve to win," she plowed on as she saw him open his mouth to protest, "and you won't do that by spending all your time worrying about what I'm going to get on my Transfiguration N.E.W.T."

He looked taken aback. "You-you'd give up your grade for me?" he asked hoarsely.

"Well, not exactly," she replied with a scandalized look, "I'll get help from someone else so that you don't have to feel guilty – because I know you will."

He came back across the room and bent to give her a hug. "Thanks for thinking so much about me, Rae," he said into her hair.

"I know you'll win," she whispered into his ear. Then, pushing him away roughly, she added, "Now get upstairs and get your beauty sleep, Mr. Champion."

He chuckled. "Right."

* * *

Even though Cedric seemed to be okay with the fact that Rachel was studying with someone else, she still felt guilty about continuing to allow Pierre to tutor her. For one thing, it was _Pierre_, and Cedric was bound to dislike that, and for another, Pierre seemed more interested in getting cozy during their tutoring sessions than in actually helping her learn. As a result, Rachel discontinued her "private lessons" with Pierre and took up studying with Eric and Carly every night. Eric was decent at Transfiguration, and was able to help both Rachel and Carly with some of the more difficult concepts. Over time, however, Rachel's brain seemed to re-absorb all the things she'd forgotten during her seven years at Hogwarts, and old facts and theories came more easily. Unfortunately, Pierre was not so easily gotten rid of. He continued to join them in the library for study-sessions, despite Eric and Carly's obvious dislike for him. 

Each time he joined them, he became a little bolder and more forward. It was quite obvious that he intended to win Rachel over, yet he seemed to remain completely oblivious to her attempts to thwart him. Eric, of course, became increasingly annoyed by this behavior and soon confined their studying to the common room, much to Rachel's relief. Occasionally, however, they had to spend an evening in the library in order to have access to the wide variety of books they wanted to use for additional research.

Things came to a head one night when Rachel had nipped into the library to check something in a book about Amortentia, her favorite potion to study. She'd left Eric and Carly in the common room, cuddling over their Charms studying and now trailed her fingers along the spines of the fascinating potions books. Coming to the one she was searching for, she tugged it off the shelf and allowed it to fall open in her hands.

_Amortentia_, it read, _moste distinguishable by its pearlescent colour and its unique sensory properties. _She paused in her reading. Such an interesting concept. The smell of the potion varied depending on who smelled it. She wondered vaguely what amortentia would smell like for her. She had yet to be given the opportunity to find out. Professor Snape seemed to have an aversion to nice, pleasant, happy potions such as amortentia; although he had mentioned it in class, he had never demonstrated it for them.

"What are you studying?" Pierre's all-too-familiar croon interrupted her thoughts as he joined her.

"Amortentia," she said shortly, wondering in annoyance whether he hung around the library every night, waiting for her.

"Ah, ze powerful love potion," he said knowingly, coming to stand behind her and peer over her shoulder at the book in her hands, his face uncomfortably close to hers. She took a tiny step in the direction away from him. "I wonder," he breathed in a husky voice, turning to lean on the bookshelf so that he was facing her, "what eet feels like when you drink it."

Feeling distinctly uncomfortable, she made to put her book away, but Pierre was in the way.

"But per'aps," he continued, looking at her intensely, "we don't need a potion to imitate ze feeling." He stepped closer, his dark, dreamy eyes never leaving her brown ones.

On gut instinct, she snapped the book shut and shoved it into his chest just as he leaned in. "Here," she told him, her voice pitched unnaturally high, out of nerves, "I'm done with it." She turned on her heel and strode toward the end of the aisle.

"Rachel, wait!" he hissed in a pleading whisper as he shoved the book haphazardly back on the shelf and chased her down.

Anxious as she was to escape Pierre, she didn't look far enough in front of her and collided head-on with another person. As the person's arms caught her shoulders to steady her, she looked up to recognize a pair stormy-gray eyes and the familiar smile that made her go weak at the knees. "Cedric!" she gasped in surprise and relief.

Pierre pulled up short when he saw the Hogwarts Champion standing there. Much to Rachel's horror, he composed himself enough to wink slyly at Cedric, a sneer playing across his lips before he shouldered past them and strode purposefully out of the library.

* * *

_Ooh! Bad Pierre! Making it look like Rachel's gasp was that of anxious surprise, not relieved surprise. Horrible, terrible, awful, no good, very bad thing to do! Hee. The drama. Oh the drama. I'm kind of too braindead to come up with my usual idle chitchat with which I fill this space, so I'll spare you the mindless ramblings of a very tired manager (I got promoted!) and conclude with the ever-so-familiar-but-nonetheless-still-meaningful plea for my wonderful readers to leave a review. Sincerest (though sleepy) regards,_

_Elena_


	19. A Convoluted Situation

_B.E. I dedicate the title of this chapter to you in honor of our mutual affection for the meaning and uses of the word "convoluted."_

* * *

**Chapter Nineteen: A Convoluted Situation**

Still staring dumbstruck at Pierre's retreating back, Rachel felt Cedric's hands steady her and set her back on her feet. She almost couldn't believe how things had just played out. Pierre had, with one simple gesture, managed to twist the whole scene into something it wasn't.  
"Rae?" Cedric's voice was heavy with hurt.

Reluctantly, fearfully, she lifted her eyes to meet his and felt the pain lance through her at the disbelief and betrayal in his eyes. "Ced," she began in a soft voice, "it's not what you –"

"You promised," he whispered in a voice raw with pain. "You told me, '_I won't ditch you for some snobby Beauxbatons boy, Ced._' I remember." He pushed away slightly, forcing her to take a step back.

"I can explain," she began again, but he interrupted her once more.

"What are you playing at, Rae?" he asked sharply. "You think you can just string the boys along, just because they all like you?"

Her anger flared at the accusation. "I'll tell you what I'm playing at," she hissed, well aware that Madam Pince was hovering around, ready to swoop down upon anyone who disturbed the peace of her precious library. "If you'd give me half a second to explain instead of jumping down my throat, you might find out _exactly _what was going on."

He blinked, chastised, and fell into a stony silence.

"First of all, you entirely misunderstood the circumstances – I was trying to get away from Pierre when I ran into you. I came down here to check something for Potions and he cornered me, okay?"

"How do I know that?" he asked painfully.

Rachel rolled her eyes. "Dump me in a vat of Veritaserum if you feel so inclined, but I promise you, I'm telling you the truth. I would never dream of choosing a playboy like Pierre over you."

"Prove it."

She stared at him, bewildered. "How?"

He shrugged. "Any way you like."

This cold, distant, scrutinizing Cedric was starting to scare her, and she felt tears begin to form at the edges of her vision. "Don't do this to me, Ced," she whispered, staring up at him pleadingly.

The lines around his mouth and eyes eased a little as he noticed the tremor in her voice.

Hesitantly, she reached up to touch the side of his face, aware that her hands were shaking. The expression in his eyes softened even more and she felt a huge wave of relief wash over her. "Hold me?" she whispered, leaning into him and wrapping her arms around his waist.

After a second's pause, she felt his arms wrap around her and hold her tight. He pressed his face into her hair. "I'm sorry I flew off the handle like that," he murmured, his breath warm in her ear. "I guess I'm just so afraid I'm going to lose you to someone else."

She allowed herself a small smile against his shirt. "That's because you don't have me," she replied. "Not in that way, anyway."

He responded by squeezing her a little harder. "Don't remind me," he growled gently.

She only laughed quietly into his shoulder.

"You always have to laugh at me, don't you?" he grumbled in mock irritation, stepping back a pace to look at her. "I was right: you _do_ enjoy stringing me along." When she only grinned cheekily, he placed two fingers under her chin. "So, do I get my 'thank-you' kiss for rescuing a damsel in distress?"

She pursed her lips. "I don't know," she replied ponderously, "You didn't technically rescue me: I got out of that myself. Not to mention I just spent the past five minutes convincing you that I _was_ a 'damsel in distress' and not a lying, cheating whore."

An apologetic look flitted across his face briefly before he managed to smile disarmingly. "At least I scared Pierre off before he could catch you and try rough you up or anything. That counts, doesn't it?"

Sliding her hands into her back pockets, she smiled coyly. "Only if you're very, very charming about it."

A fleeting smile played across his mouth as he leaned in and placed a tender, lingering kiss on her lips. Behind them, they heard a gasp of outrage and the sound of an armful of books tumbling onto the floor.

* * *

_Sigh. The cuteness of it. And I'm pleased at the very shrewd reviews I received on the last chapter. Yes, Cedric does have a habit of jumping to conclusions. If he didn't, the conflicts wouldn't be as fun as they are to write. It'd be pretty boring and I'd consider Cedric to be somewhat of a sap if he didn't get jealous and touchy about other guys being around Rachel. Notice, however, that it doesn't take as long for Rachel to convince him in this chapter, which shows that he trusts her more. The progression will continue, of course. And be my guest to hazard your guesses at who the person in the last paragraph is. I'm intrigued to see how well you guys all know me. _

_Thanks for your reviews! It's always such a pleasure to check my email and see a list of "Review Alerts" for my story. You should see the way I grin everytime!_

_Loves!_

_Elena_


	20. Permission Granted

**Chapter Twenty: Permission Granted**

Cedric and Rachel broke apart hastily to see Cho staring at them, her eyes flashing with fury. Her fists were clenched at her sides and she positively trembled with indignant fury. "I should have known!" she cried in a high-pitched voice, her eyes landing on Rachel before focusing on Cedric. "How long were you cheating on me with her, then?" she demanded, her voice still high, but beginning to tremble.

"I-I wasn't," he began, his eyes still registering shock at the intensity of Cho's reaction. "I never cheated on you."

"You're lying!" Cho retorted, her voice breaking on the last word as tears began to pour down her cheeks. Rachel cast Cedric a slightly reproving look that clearly said, _This is why I wanted to keep the 'just friends' thing going._ But Cho wasn't finished. Still sobbing, she squeaked, "I saw the way you looked at her, even when we were dating! How could you do that to me, Ceddy?"

Rachel cringed slightly at this newest rendition of her friend's name, but said nothing.

"Cho," Cedric said pleadingly, "You have to listen to me. I _never_ cheated on you! I'm not dating Rachel, okay?"

"Then what was that?" she sobbed, clearly referring to the kiss she'd just interrupted. Apparently deciding she didn't want an answer, Cho switched subjects as her eyes shifted to Rachel's face. "You lied to me," she whispered accusingly.

"Cho," Rachel replied as soothingly as she could, "I didn't lie to you. Not in the way you think I did. Cedric and I aren't dating. We decided not to out of respect for you."

Cho hiccupped slightly and shook her head in disbelief, her eyes clearly disagreeing with them. "If you respected me, Cedric wouldn't have broken up with me."

"It wouldn't be fair to you to do that, Cho," Cedric pointed out. "Would you rather that we were still dating and that I was lying to you about how I felt?"

Hesitantly, reluctantly, she shook her head. But even before she finished the movement, she suddenly threw herself into Cedric's arms, sobbing uncontrollably. "How could you, Ceddy?" she murmured between sobs, over and over again.

Rachel shifted and caught Cedric's eye. "I'll wait for you in the common room," she mouthed silently. When he nodded, she moved quietly past the still-sobbing Cho and hurried out of the library.

* * *

"What happened to you?" Eric demanded when she slipped into the common room a few minutes later. "You look as though you've seen a ghost." 

"Rae, are you okay?" Carly cried, jumping up and hurrying over to her friend to fuss in a remarkably mother-like way with Rachel's hair and pull her into a hug.

"Fine, I'm fine," Rachel murmured, allowing Carly to walk her over to the couch where Eric was still sitting. "We bumped into Cho in the library."

"Don't see why that's so horrible," Eric pointed out shrewdly, "You two have bumped into her multiple times since the Second Task."

Feeling a blush creeping up her neck, Rachel replied hesitantly, "She kind of… walked in on Cedric kissing me."

"Oh," Eric said, pausing significantly as the full weight of the situation settled on him, "Oh."

"It's okay, guys," Rachel hurried to assure them before her two friends launched into a campaign to comfort her. "It had to happen sometime, didn't it?"

"Bad timing," Eric commented. "Ced's got the Third Task in a week and something like this could definitely put him off his game."

Rachel only nodded ruefully.

"Where _is_ Cedric?" Carly asked, glancing curiously around the common room, as though she thought he might jump out of hiding.

"I left him to try to sort out Cho," Rachel replied. When Eric looked indignant, she hastily added, "This has to be resolved between the two of them, Eric. I was just making the situation worse by hanging around."

He shrugged in acquiescence. "You know best, I suppose. I'm no expert on girls, you know." He looked around the room, which, by that point, was empty save for the three of them. "Well, I suppose I'd better get some sleep. I'm all studied out," he added, heaving himself to his feet and patting Rachel's shoulder affectionately. "Don't stay up too late, Rae," he told her.

She shot him a reproving glare. "Yes, _father_," she growled as Carly allowed Eric to pull her to her feet.

"Goodnight, Rae," she told her friend. "Wake me when you come to bed." Rachel nodded in agreement, and Carly turned to Eric. "G'night," she murmured as he took her hands in his. He grinned and pulled her into a brief, sweet kiss.

"Good night, Carles," he replied in a gentle voice, kissing her on the forehead. With one last, brief hug and kiss, they separated to their separate dormitories, leaving Rachel smiling fondly after them. Once she was alone, she went to her school bag and pulled out her arithmancy book and settled down to do some studying for her arithmancy N.E.W.T.

* * *

When Cedric finally entered the common room an hour later, Rachel was dozing lightly over her studying, which was lying open and untouched on her lap. She roused at the sound of Cedric's movements, however. He looked drained as he dropped his bookbag on the floor by the entrance. "How'd it go?" she asked gently.

Cedric only sighed. She correctly interpreted the meaning and set her book aside, opening her arms to him. He smiled gratefully and crossed the room to seat himself beside her and settle into her arms, his face buried in her shoulder and his arms wrapped around her waist. She stroked his hair soothingly. "It'll be alright," she murmured.

He sat up and ran a hand through his hair, pushing the stray wisps out of his face. "Now I know why you were so keen to keep the 'just friends' thing going," he said ruefully.

She choose to refrain from any "I told you so's" and instead said, "So, did you get her sorted out okay?"

His brows furrowed. "I think so," he replied. "Here," he added, moving to the other end of the couch and stretching out comfortably. Rachel took his invitation and moved to join him, laying her head down on his chest and feeling his arm descend comfortably around her shoulders. Once they had settled comfortably into each other, Cedric continued where he'd left off, "I think she's okay. She didn't really talk much, you know? Just sort of sobbed into my shoulder for a while. I finally got her off to her common room before Madam Pince came swooping down on us, but I'm not exactly sure whether she forgives me or not."

Rachel fiddled with the embroidery of the Hufflepuff crest on his shirt for a little before replying. "I wouldn't really blame her if she chose not to forgive us," she murmured.

"Me neither," Cedric agreed, his fingers beginning to trace circular patterns on her upper arm.

"How are you feeling about the Third Task?" she asked, keen to change the subject and get Cedric's mind off the unpleasant occurrences of the evening.

"Pretty good," he replied after a split-seconds' pause, "I mean, it's pretty straightforward; get through the maze and be the first to touch the Cup." His hand paused in its movement on her shoulder. "It's so close, now, isn't it? I can almost taste it."

Smiling, she slid her arm around him and gave him a gentle, affectionate squeeze. His fingers resumed their tracing.

She could hear the smile in his voice as he continued, "Can you imagine what it would be like if I brought the Triwizard Cup back? All the glory for Hufflepuff?"

"I've been imagining it for a long time now, Ced," Rachel whispered. "It'll be good for our House if you win. And one heck of a way for you to go out – the hero and Champion from Hufflepuff. Ced?" she asked, tilting her head up to look at him, "What would you do with the winnings?"

His dark gray eyes regarded her thoughtfully for a moment. "Well, I've been thinking about that," he said at length. "First thing I would do is buy you something. Something really nice." He grinned as she sat up in indignation.

"Cedric Diggory, don't you dare spend all that money on me!" she hissed, keeping her voice low so as not to wake anybody.

"It would be my money," he pointed out reasonably, "I'll spend it how I want. Now calm down, and get back here," he added, pulling her back up against him. A little reluctantly, she snuggled up against his side once more. "Anyway," he continued, "I'd buy you something – and something for my parents, of course. Then I'd probably put the rest of it towards getting my own start in life. Get myself a nice little place, probably in the country, and put the rest in the bank."

"Very wise of you," Rachel commented.

"Well thank you." There was a long pause, unbroken by any sound except the merry crackling of the fire. "Rae?"

She had started to doze off, soothed and relaxed by the crackling warmth of the fire, the feel of Cedric's arm around her, and the rhythmic pounding of his heart under her ear. "Hmm?" she murmured, her eyes still closed.

"After tonight… well, word is bound to get out. I've respected your request that we pretend to be just friends for Cho's benefit, but since she knows now…" he trailed off, seemingly reluctant to bring himself to ask her again.

Rachel had, by now, opened her eyes fully, and she sat up as he let his words hang in the air. His eyes didn't leave hers as he waited for her to respond. Gently, she reached out and brushed the side of his face with the tips of her fingers. Almost unconsciously, his hand went up to press her fingers against his cheek. "My heart has always been yours," she murmured softly. "But now I'm giving you permission to let everyone else know." Leaning in, she kissed him before he could open his mouth to reply.

She felt him smile against her lips as his hands wound into her long hair and he kissed her back, long and hard.

* * *

_Yay! (pause for dramatic effect) YAY! I'm so happy! I've been looking forward to writing this chapter for a very, very, VERY long time, believe you me! And I'm so proud of those of you who guessed it was Cho. You have demonstrated remarkable brainpower and you must be psychic. Well, just kidding. You're just smart enough to recognize the set-up when you see it. Whew! This chapter's so fluffy that I feel all warm and fuzzy just thinking about it. _

_I'm anxious to hear your thoughts on this chapter, as always. This one especially, since it's like, my absolute favorite so far! (Just out of curiosity, I want to know what chapters you all liked best, if you have favorites. Don't feel obligated though!)_

_Cheers!_

_Elena_


	21. Amortentia

**Chapter Twenty-One: Amortentia**

Rachel awoke early the next morning – without Carly's aid, funnily enough – and lay staring up at the ceiling. Warmth and dread flooded through her simultaneously; on the one hand, she and Cedric were a couple, and the thought made her happier than she could have expected. On the other, the hazy sunlight filtering through her dormitory window meant the commencement of her N.E.W.T. exams and she felt a momentary rush of panic before she quelled it. She'd been studying forever. If she wasn't ready, no one would be.

"Hey Rae – oh, you're up," Carly said, emerging from the bathroom in the process of toweling her long, curly blonde hair. "You didn't wake me up last night," she pointed out, her eyes bouncing between each of Rachel's with an air of intense expectation. Rachel supposed that her roommate and best friend had been waiting until she woke up and was dying for details of the night before.

"You were kind of snoring, Carly," Rachel only replied, knowing full well that her friend would take offense.

"I do not snore!"

"Well, it was more like you were muttering in your sleep. It sounded vaguely like the words, 'Eric –'"

She was cut off midsentence as Carly threw the towel into her face. "Alright, alright!" she exclaimed, a blush creeping up her neck, "I prefer your first story. I was snoring, okay?"

Rachel grinned impishly. "If you say so."

"Hmph," Carly grunted, flouncing back into the bathroom to do her hair. Rachel smiled inwardly; her teasing had worked and distracted Carly from her quest to worm information out of her. Flicking her covers back, she climbed out of bed, tugged on her robes, and joined Carly in the bathroom to get ready for the day.

* * *

When they descended the stairs, it was to find Eric sitting alone (apart from a spattering of fifth years with their noses in their books) in his favorite chair by the fire, his Transfiguration book open on his lap. Carly approached him and ran her hands through his sandy hair, leaning over him from behind and kissing his forehead as he looked up at her. Rachel watched for a few seconds, smiling with affection at her pair of friends. "Where's Cedric?" she asked at length, when their little exchange had concluded. 

"He went down to breakfast already," Eric answered, running his fingers through the strands of Carly's hair that trailed down his shoulder. "I stayed up here to do some last-minute studying, figured you and Carly would too. But he seemed particularly adamant that you would still go eat breakfast."

"Obviously," Rachel replied, ignoring the subtle inflection in Eric's voice that suggested a question. "Well," she said, moving past them, "I'll catch up with you two lovebirds later, okay?" Ignoring the significant glance Carly sent Eric, she turned away and hurried down to the Great Hall. Her eyes picked out Cedric's brown hair and broad shoulders in a heartbeat. Coming up behind him, she slid an arm around his shoulder and leaned over him to swipe a gulp of the pumpkin juice he was about to raise to his lips. She kissed his cheek as he scowled slightly.

"Good morning to you, too," he muttered, taking his glass back from her and taking a prolonged and slightly exaggerated swallow. Rachel toyed with the hair at the nape of his neck and he grinned as he set his glass down. "That feels good," he said as she sat down. "Are you ready for your exams?" he asked, more seriously while she buttered a slice of toast, tugged out her Transfiguration book.

"I suppose," she replied, running a hand through her hair to brush the spare strands out of her eyes.

"You'll do fine," he replied gallantly, noticing her mild frustration as her eyes moved rapidly across the page she was rereading. Accordingly, he lapsed into polite silence and allowed her to study without distraction.

"Mr. Diggory, your parents are here to see you," Professor McGonagall spoke quite suddenly from behind them, causing Rachel to choke on her drink and spill over her robes as she jumped in surprise. Spluttering and hastening to snatch up a napkin, she wiped her dripping chin and turned to face the familiarly stern face of the Head of Gryffindor House. "My apologies, Miss Schickling. I trust you are studying hard for your Transfiguration exam this morning?"

"Yes'm," Rachel murmured, dabbing rather hopelessly at her robes while Cedric handed her more napkins.

"Very good," McGonagall replied crisply, surveying them over her square-rimmed spectacles. "Mr. Diggory, your family is waiting for you in the room off the teachers' table. And perhaps a wand might be more useful, Miss Schickling? You are a witch, and a fairly gifted one at that."

Rachel felt a blush creep into her cheeks. Of course the obvious thing to do would have been to whip out her wand and remedy the situation in a heartbeat. Feeling her cheeks burning, she withdrew her wand and muttered the spell to transfigure the liquid into crumbs, brushing them off and standing up. McGonagall granted her the tiniest of smiles and swept off down the aisle. Cedric rose to his feet beside her, surveying her bemusedly. "That was some nice spellwork, once you unfroze."

"Elementary," Rachel grumbled, still embarrassed by her fairly dismal performance in front of Professor McGonagall. "I doubt turning water into food is going to be tested in a N.E.W.T. exam. Not to mention that it did nothing for the liquid already absorbed into my robes. I'm still going to have to change."

"Well at least come see my parents with me, won't you? They'll be dying to see you again, you know."

Rachel shook her head. "I still have studying to do. I'll be at lunch, okay?"

Cedric looked mildly disappointed, but he managed to conceal it quickly and shrug. "Sure."

* * *

"Oh hello dear!" Mrs. Diggory greeted warmly as Rachel took her seat beside Cedric at lunch, across from his parents. 

"Hello, Mrs. Diggory," Rachel replied as Cedric slid an arm around her and hugged her briefly in greeting. "How are things at home?"

"Oh fine, just fine," Mrs. Diggory replied airily as Mr. Diggory helped himself to some steaming kippers, "Amos has been busy in with the Ministry, of course, and I've been positively besieged with letters from all of Cedric's aunts and uncles, wishing him luck. They were ecstatic when they heard about our Ced being selected as the Hogwarts Champion. Of course, no one could be prouder of him than we are."

"Even beat out little Potter, didn't you, Ced?" Mr. Diggory said, winking at his son. "I was a bit disappointed when I found out that Potter got in anyway. Can't imagine how he did it. But at least you showed him that you don't have to be famous to be a Champion. Now you just have to beat him in two days and he'll never be able to outshine you again."

"Dad, Harry will _always_ outshine me. He's famous and I expect it to be that way."

"You'll be famous if you win that Cup, my boy," Mr. Diggory replied sternly. "Don't make light of the situation right now. Just make your mother and me proud."

"Right," Cedric replied, a little moodily as he stirred his food around with his fork.

* * *

The next days passed in a flurry of cramming and testing as Rachel, Eric, Carly, and the rest of their year-mates went through each of their N.E.W.T. exams. They soon found that the exams were aptly named – the late nights in the library and common rooms had sapped the energy of nearly every seventh year in Hogwarts. However, all in all, Rachel felt optimistic about the majority of her exams. She made a minor slip-up in her practical Transfiguration exam and the desk she had been meaning to turn into a horse still retained wooden hooves, and in her Theory of Charms, she thought she might have botched her answer on the effects on a Fidelius Charm when the Secret Keeper dies. However, she was almost certain she had passed her Potions practical with flying colors. Her examiner had praised her on her performance and Snape, who had slid past her cauldron in his typical greasy manner, had found nothing to sneer at. The twitch of his lips as he passed her made Rachel smile. In all her years at Hogwarts, she had maintained outstanding grades in Potions; nevertheless, Professor Snape had never recognized her as one of his star students. The greatest praise she'd ever received from him was something along the lines of: "Satisfactory concoction, Miss Schickling." But one event in her Potions practical exam had pleased her more than any other.

* * *

_When she presented her potion for the examiner's testing, she noticed a misty-looking substance in a vial on the counter beside the examiner's hand. _

_"Sir," she began hesitantly, "is that…?"_

_"__Amortentia?__ Why yes, it is. You recognize it on sight, I see. Used it before have you?" he added slyly._

_Rachel shook her head mutely, intending to drop the subject, but her curiosity was getting the better of her. "May I?" she asked, indicating the bottle. _

_The examiner glanced at her perfect Draught of the Living Death and nodded. "You seem to have merited the privilege. I take it you've never smelled it before?"_

_"I was just curious about it is all," Rachel replied, taking the small vial in her hands and uncorking it. The most delicious, tantalizing scent wafted out of it, teasing her senses and making her dizzy with its potency. She recognized the mixture of scents at once and smiled at the memories each scent brought. She almost didn't want to replace the cork and stopper the smells, but eventually__ she did so and set the vial back on the table in front of the examiner. _

_"You liked it?" he asked._

_"Of course," she replied._

_"Well, your own potion is outstanding, and I think I could trust such an expert potions maker to treat all potions with care. Perhaps you would like some of this?" he suggested, indicating the Amortentia. _

_Sorely tempted though she was, Rachel shook her head. "I apologize, but I really have no need for it. I have everything I want right now."_

_"Don't be sorry my dear, it is a great blessing to have what Amortentia can only approximate. It is unwise to wish for more."_

_Rachel nodded in agreement, knowing that she already had all the Amortentia she'd ever need. _

* * *

"Hey beautiful." 

Rachel looked up from the fire as Cedric's voice pulled her from reliving the memory of Amortentia's smell. He crossed over and sat on the armrest beside her. She slid her hand into his, their clasped hands resting on his knee as she gazed up into his face. He looked tired and drawn. The Third Task was only hours away and she guessed that he was suffering from last-minute nerves.

"Are you coming down to dinner? Mom and Dad wanted to celebrate the end of exams with you."

Nodding, she took his proffered hand and allowed him to pull her to her feet. "You ready?" she asked as they made their way up to the Great Hall.

He hesitated for a split second. "Yeah, I'm ready."

* * *

_I know the Amortentia bit isn't really relevant at this point, but the potion fascinates me and I like the little side-tangent into Rachel's character that it provides. I know you guys may be wondering what exactly Rachel smells. Feel free to guess. It'll come up in a couple of chapters. Next one is the Third Task. WOOT! I realized that I covered the whole amount of time from the start of school to the Second Task in like, eight chapters, and it's taken more than that many to get from the Second Task to the Third Task. The disproportionality is bugging me a little. But if you have no complaints, then I don't either. And I apologize for it taking so long to update. I've been crazy busy. Hopefully I can get more up soon, but my rate of updating is forecasted to dip severely in the coming months. Maybe even to an all-time low. Just bear with me, okay? I'm trying! Please review!_

_Cheers!_

_Elena_


	22. The Third Task

**Chapter Twenty-two: The Third Task**

Hand in hand, Cedric and Rachel joined Mr. and Mrs. Diggory in the entrance hall. According to earlier instructions, Cedric broke away from them to join the Champions on their way down to the stands. The families and selected loved ones of the Champions would be allowed to join them a few minutes later to wish them luck. Waiting in one of the antechambers, Rachel felt the minutes drag on forever as the knot of nerves coiled painfully in her stomach.

At last, eons later, Mr. Diggory's voice broke into her thoughts. "Rachel? We're ready to go."

Wordlessly, she nodded and followed Cedric's parents down to the small chamber under the grandstands. She could just make out Cedric's outline in the dimly flickering light of a spattering of candles. He turned at their approach and he smiled warmly as his eyes settled on Rachel. Sniffling with tears of pride, Mrs. Diggory hurried over to her son and hugged him fiercely while Mr. Diggory clapped a hand on his son's back. "You ready, son?" he asked boisterously.

As Cedric responded to his parents' inquiries, Rachel allowed her attention to drift to the other Champions in the room. Viktor Krum was standing silently with his parents in one corner of the chamber, while Fleur was chattering away in her customary rapid French while her little sister looked on with adoring eyes. Lastly, her attention fell on Harry Potter, who sat alone on a bench out of the way. With a quick glance at Cedric to make sure he noticed where she was going, she approached the young Gryffindor and settled herself on the bench beside him. "Hey," she said quietly.

He glanced up, his green eyes wide and vulnerable with apprehension. He looked surprised to find her talking to him.

"Look," she said, laying a hand on his shoulder, "for what it's worth, I don't think you put your name in that Cup." She paused, enjoying the glimmer of pleasure that entered his vibrant eyes. "So just… watch out for yourself out there, okay? I know I'm supposed to be cheering Cedric on – and I am – but just be careful."

A shadow of a grin flitted across his lips. "You sure you just don't want me to beat your champion?"

She allowed an answering grin and a cocky wink. "Not a chance you could," she teased lightly. "But if you do," she added more seriously, "it'll still be a Hogwarts victory, so I suppose I could forgive you eventually."

He swallowed in response, his mind recalled to the daunting task ahead of him. A movement at the door distracted their exchange and Rachel looked up to see the Weasleys filing in to wish Harry their best. "Well, I'll let your friends have you to themselves," she murmured, patting him briefly on the shoulder and getting up to rejoin Cedric. As she approached her friend, he opened his arms to her and she more than willingly entered them, anxious to do something to erase the strain showing in his eyes. His arms wrapped around her waist and he pressed his face into her hair. "Make me proud," she whispered into his ear, running her hands soothingly through the hair at the nape of his neck.

"Yes, son," Mr. Diggory added, standing near enough to have heard her words. "Make us proud."

"Our son, the winner of the Triwizard Cup!" Mrs. Diggory exclaimed. "Imagine it!"

"Don't be too hasty, Mum," Cedric replied, his arms still around Rachel's shoulders.

"Champions!" Ludo Bagman boomed, bounding into the room. "Ready?"

Cedric released Rachel quickly in order to hug both of his parents and kiss his mother's cheek. Finally he turned back to face her. "Be careful," she pleaded, her eyes never straying from his as he placed his hands on her shoulders and pulled her close, nodding as he did so. "Make me proud," she added in the barest whisper. He leaned in and kissed her lips gently and briefly in answer, not seeming to care that his parents were standing right next to them. She hugged her arms around his waist, squeezing him tightly before pushing him away. "Now go," she muttered gruffly.

A gentle twinkle in his gray eyes greeted her as he cast one last glance back toward her. "Wait for me," he told her with a grin.

She couldn't help but smile in return. "Always."

He grinned again and turned to follow the other champions outside to the entrance of the maze.

"Come, my dear," Mrs. Diggory said softly, slipping an arm around Rachel's shoulders and, together with Mr. Diggory, they ascended the stairs into the stands and seated themselves with Eric and Carly, who had saved seats.

"Mr. Potter and Mr. Diggory are tied for first place and as such, they will enter the maze first!" Bagman announced to the tumult of raucous cheering that greeted his words. Rachel screamed and cheered with the rest as Cedric waved briefly at the crowd and entered the maze. At two later intervals, Krum and Fleur entered the maze, and as the hedge sealed up behind them, Rachel felt a pang of worry and gratefully accepted the hand Carly offered for moral support.

* * *

_Okay, I'm reposting this chapter and it's successor right now. The changes are barely perceptible, but they make me happier, so that's really all that matters. Chapter 24 is going to be altered rather dramatically however. That and the concluding chapter(s) will be coming soon. Thank you all for being so patient!_

_Elena_


	23. Waiting

**Chapter Twenty-three: Waiting**

Whatever may have happened in the maze, it didn't make it any less stressful for those waiting outside. Tension mounted almost unbearably as Rachel and her friends listened to the muffled sounds echoing out of the maze. They jumped as a sudden creaking announced the shifting of the hedges, burying Cedric and the others in even deeper in the labrynthine passages. Quite suddenly, a shower of red sparks shot into the air and Rachel's hand closed like a vise around Carly's.

"Rae, it's okay," Carly murmured soothingly, removing her other hand from Eric's and enfolding Rachel's in both of her own. In the tense minutes it took for the patrolling teachers to reach the location of the red sparks, Rachel felt the world around her go still. Her heart pounded loudly in the silence as the entire crowd collectively held its breath.

At last: "Miss Delacour has been forced to retire from the competition," Ludo Bagman's voice echoed over the silent stands. A collection of groans escaped the cluster of Beauxbatons students below Rachel and her friends and she thought she could distinguish Pierre's face among them, looking distinctly put out. He cast a resentful glance in her direction and she suddenly realized that he had been very keen to have Fleur beat Cedric out.

Time dragged still longer. The patrollers returned with a groggy and very disoriented Fleur, who protested weakly that she was fine before Madame Maxime hushed her and hurried her off to the healers' tent to be checked for any lasting damage. Meanwhile, the maze continued to omit odious creaks and groans, accompanied by other, more terrifying noises – shrieks, hisses, explosions. Rachel wished with all her heart that she could see into the maze and watch what was happening.

After an indeterminable amount of time, another shower of red sparks shot into the air. This time it was Mrs. Diggory who gasped in fear and gripped Rachel's arm while Rachel did her best to soothe her. Mrs. Diggory's hand on her arm was so painfully tight that she could feel her pulse pounding in protest to the pressure. No announcement came this time, but after several minutes more, Hagrid emerged from the shadows carrying an unconscious Viktor Krum. Cedric's parents and friends all allowed themselves to breathe again.

"Well, it's just our boy and Potter now," Mr. Diggory said in a low, satisfied voice to his companions, "an easy match if there ever was one."

The stillness yawned bleakly around them as the only sounds came from the hedges shifting and the slight groaning of the stands under the shifting weight of hundreds of students and staff. Viktor and Fleur both emerged from the Madam Pomfrey's care, nursing whatever minor wounds they had received. As the two retired Champions made their way to join their peers, Rachel noticed that Fleur seemed to keep a more-than-normal distance between herself and Krum, her stunning eyes regarding him with a mixture of apprehension and resentment. The look in her eyes sent a thrill of foreboding through Rachel and she shivered involuntarily, feeling Carly lean comfortingly into her. All of her reservations and concerns from the night Cedric had first told her he was entering the tournament pushed forcibly to the front of her thoughts and she struggled to find where her courage and excitement had disappeared to.

* * *

The sun had long since set and plunged the world around them into inky blackness and the night chill was creeping in on the waiting student body. Spells on the part of Dumbledore and several other teachers helped hold most of the cold at bay, but as time ticked on, the chill of fear and apprehension began to permeate the crowd. Carly had long since released Rachel's hands in order to tuck her own deep in her coat and snuggle into Eric's arms. In a stroke of chivalry, Eric had given her his scarf and was now rubbing her upper arms in a soothing, warming gesture, seemingly oblivious to the cold himself.

Suddenly, another shower of red sparks shot out of the maze and hovered in the air, their red glow blinking ominously before Rachel's eyes. She traced their origin to a spot almost exactly above the center of the maze… where the Triwizard Cup was. The crowd jumped to its feet, invigorated at last. Now was the deciding moment when the winner of the Cup and the Tournament would be decided.

"Yes!" Mr. Diggory cried, punching his fist in the air. "Ced's beaten Potter out!"


End file.
